《Dante's Immortality》 Shitty map (not chp) Here is a shitty map... or a representation of a shitty map... of Aleria. You may be thinking the area the nobles control is very small, but continent is just really big...The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Page Break Clip Art #5040 Preupload edit: I cant upload this unless i reach 500 characters, but the good news is, if i keep typing random words eventaully ill reach five hundred characters and will be able to upload this. That being said, im not sure what random words to write, so its unfortunate that this horrible paragraph is what we end up with. List of names, houses, and places People Alexander Calman ¨C Spoiler: Spoiler Layla¡¯s brother who Dante rode in the carriage with. Andrea Calman - Spoiler: Spoiler Layla and Alexanders mom, maintains most of the control over House Calman, manipulative Archie ¨C Spoiler: Spoiler Dante¡¯s swordsmanship instructor at the academy. Bridget Daynard ¨C Spoiler: Spoiler Dante met her at the party with Kayla. Jack¡¯s sister, rude. Charles Calman Spoiler: Spoiler Layla and Alexanders dad, married to andrea, good at leading troops Dante - Spoiler: Spoiler If you don¡¯t know who this is you¡¯re lost. Damian Ramotar ¨C Spoiler: Spoiler loosely mentioned atm but lord of House Ramotar Diana Ailloss ¨C Spoiler: Spoiler Edwards daughter who ran away because he tried to force her to marry Dante Edward Ailloss ¨C Spoiler: Spoiler Noble that Dante ¡®met¡¯ in his first dungeon. Wants Dante to join his house and marry his daughter Greggory Tibbott ¨C Spoiler: Spoiler Ass hole son of Alazel¡¯s lord. Headmaster Tolli ¨C Spoiler: Spoiler mysterious headmaster, causing problems for Layla Calman Helena Ailloss - Spoiler: Spoiler Edward''s wife, we know she can keep up with him in a sparring match and is upset that Diana ran away Instructor Arin - Spoiler: Spoiler Instructor of Dante''s Advanced Mana Manipulation Class Instructor Kane - Spoiler: Spoiler Instructor of Dante''s Guide to Magic Relics and Artifacts classLove this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Instructor Linty - Spoiler: Spoiler Instructor of Dante''s Basics of Enchanting class Instructor Misa - Spoiler: Spoiler Instructor of Dante''s Basics of Lying and Acting Class Jack Daynard - Spoiler: Spoiler Boy who Insulted Dante when he was being measured for his uniform, also bridgets brother Kayla Stavins - Spoiler: Spoiler Went to party with Dante, trying to get close to Dante, House was destroyed by Calmans and shes basically a slave to them Layla Calman - Spoiler: Spoiler Trying to manipulate Dante to be her servant, family owns the academy, more influence than her brother alexander Mia Went - Spoiler: Spoiler Dante''s servant at the academy, house was wiped out in random attack when she was seven. Attackers were unknown Sam - Spoiler: Spoiler House Ailloss'' best guard Tabitha Tolli - Spoiler: Spoiler Bored headmasters daughter from the party, injured jack with a light swat on the head Victoria- Spoiler: Spoiler Head of the assassins guild, sent to take care of Dante
Houses (and their classification types) Top three houses in the outer region and the known houses under their control Ailloss- Spoiler: Spoiler Edwards House, one of the top three powers in the Outer region, close combat classifications Friendly/wary of House Ramotar (balance of power through mutual destruction) Calman- Spoiler: Spoiler ''Weakest'' of the top three houses. Magic Classifications. Known to use abhorrent tactics to increase their power Savion - Spoiler: Spoiler Will''s house. Close combat Classifications Daynard- Spoiler: Spoiler Branch family of the calmans. Magic classifications. Hold a high position with Calmans by handling the dirty work Ramotar ¨C Spoiler: Spoiler loosley mentioned third power in the outer region. As strong as House Ailloss. Focus on mana manipulation techniques over Classification skills themselves Went - Spoiler: Spoiler Mia''s house, wiped out by an unknow attacker. Was allied with House Ramotar through political marriage of Damian''s sister to the lord of House Went Others Stavins Spoiler: Spoiler Kayla''s house, wiped out by Calmans. Known Classification type - magic Tibbott Spoiler: Spoiler kicked out of Outer region because they lacked power, controllers of Alazel
Locations - Nobles territory (Outer regions) Academy - Spoiler: Spoiler School run by calmans to recruit commoner combatants Alazel - Spoiler: Spoiler City where Dante lived and the starting location of the story Kenguard - Spoiler: Spoiler City with the densest world essence in the Outer edge (noble territory) Wastelands Spoiler: Spoiler Ravaged Land from the last campaign that is controlled by warlords instead of nobles. Known to be more chaotic (strong rule the weak) with constant power shifts from current rulers being overthrown Prologue Dante¡¯s Immortality - prologue ¡°Ughh¡± He couldn¡¯t help but release a groan as he rubbed his eyes and attempted to regain some semblance of consciousness. What happened¡­? Dante sat up carefully as pain shot through his side. It was the same alleyway he had chosen to sleep in last night - dark, desolate, and unpatrolled by guards - just how he liked. Well,usually unpatrolled by guards¡­ Staring at the bloodstains on the cobblestone around him that were clearly his own, it was obvious a random patrol found him. At least they knocked me out before I woke up. He couldn¡¯t help but feel some resentment and anger at the unknown guards. He wasn¡¯t upset about the random beating, that was a common enough occurrence as far as he was concerned. But to do it on today of all days¡­ Still, it was just something to accept. One of the things he had learned is that acceptance is a part of survival. The world wouldn¡¯t change for you, and there was nothing that you could do about it. Fortunately, today there was a chance to change himself. Today was the day of Bestowal, a holy day of the Goddess. It is the day that the Status was given to those eligible, marking the passage from adolescence to adulthood. It was the most anticipated and celebrated day of the year. Even he was generally treated at least somewhat well during the festivities. Dante climbed to his feet, ignoring the pain that shot through him as he hobbled to through the alley. Stepping out into the street, he was blinded by the sudden light. He reached up to block out the sun with his hand and identify its position in the sky. Dante released a deep sigh of relief. He still had at least an hour until noon, he hadn¡¯t missed the blessing and his only way out of his hell. While he was lost in thought staring up at the sky, the people who were filling the bustling street streamed around him as if he wasn¡¯t there. Only occasionally would someone purposefully bump into him, lobbing insults as they passed. Dante couldn¡¯t help but smile. If only I were always treated this well¡­ Dante merged into the crowd, trying to make his way toward the town square. He did his best not to look up, which was an effort to keep any unwanted attention away from himself. Of course, it was utterly useless. Any attempt to hide was futile when the sun reflected off of his silver hair like a beacon for anyone who wanted to cause problems for him. The crowd he was walking slowed to a crawl as it reached the perimeter of the town square. The square in Alazel was located around the temple of the Goddess, like in every town he had been to. It made sense to him, the statues of the Goddess were always built in the location of any given region where world essence was in its densest form. Eventually, settlements would be created around the statues for the benefits they bring. With the help of the statue, it was almost hard not to prosper. Dante glanced back up at the sun, roughly thirty minutes left. He gazed at Alazel¡¯s Head Priest, who was giving a lecture on the Goddess¡¯s bestowal, and of course, the Status. The Head Priest was a short, elderly man that gave off an air of superiority. He had the rapt attention of the crowd, especially the ones around Dante¡¯s age, who were standing at the front and center. Dante pressed his way through the people surrounding him and joined them, gaining the glares of any who noticed him. ¡°-that the Goddess has chosen to bless us despite our flaws, only with her aid can we push back the darkness that had plagued we weak humans for eons. Thus, today we come together for the bestowal of the Status and the celebration of all that the Goddess has blessed us with.¡± The Head Priest took a pause to bask in the looks of pure adoration that the crowd gave him. But as he scanned the crowd, his eyes caught a glint of silver in the sunlight, and he frowned. The Head Priest paused his lecture and turned to address Dante, who was now with the rest of those waiting to accept the Status and step into adulthood. ¡°We have already proven that the Goddess does not approve ofyourkind, it would be best if you left and saved yourself from embarrassment.¡± The head priest was referring to the previous year when Dante had stood forward, much like today, to receive his Status. When he had touched the Goddess¡¯ statue, nothing happened. After that, his standing in the town had decreased even further, which he didn¡¯t think was possible. Of course, he attributed that to his age in an effort to maintain hope. He wasn¡¯t sure if he was actually despised by the Goddess, but he wouldn''t give up on his one chance in life because of a single failed attempt. It was common knowledge that someone couldn¡¯t accept the Status until they had reached the age of fourteen. A crucial moment in everyone¡¯s life, without the Status they wouldn¡¯t be able to manipulate world essence. The problem was, he had no knowledge of how old he was, his first memories in life were rummaging through trash for food years ago, before that he remembered nothing. Due to his appearance, and the priest''s habit of spreading superstition based on his looks, he couldn¡¯t beg for food or coin without being beaten or just chased away. He didn¡¯t even know his name until a head priest from an even less tolerant town had an Identify skill cast on him to find out what manner of demon he was. Despite not being a demon, the town still chased him out afterward. He nearly died many times over on the short journey to Alazel. Dante was about to reply to the Head Priest when an arrogant voice interrupted him. ¡°I don¡¯t see why we even allow the damn creature to stay in the city. If it were up to me, I would have had my father¡¯s guards burn him already.¡± Dante turned to see Greggory Tibbott, the local lord¡¯s son speaking proudly to the crowd. Greggory had a habit of being rude to him whenever he could, but he couldn¡¯t understand what had made him so hostile today of all days. Greggory was a large boy, even at the age of fourteen, he outweighed most adults. If he weren''t continually flaunting his house sigil, no one would even know he was a noble. His generic brown hair was nothing special, and he didn¡¯t have the high cheekbones that defined most nobility. But to his chagrin, several people in the crowd actually nodded in agreement to Greggory¡¯s words and began muttering to themselves. The Head Priest saw that he was losing the attention of the crowd, something that he wouldn¡¯t allow. The Head Priest snorted. ¡°Greggory, your father maintains order in this town. Try to act at least somewhat befitting to your status, lest you bring even more shame to your house.¡± The Head Priest paused for a moment, thinking of a way to win back the crowd. ¡°Even though he does not have the favor of the Goddess, as we saw last year, the Goddess teaches tolerance to all those who are willing to accept her.¡± He cleared his throat. ¡°Even though he is clearly unfavored, I have personally confirmed that he is no threat to the Goddess¡¯ plan.¡± He wasn¡¯t sure what the head priest was talking about, the man had barely even deigned to look at him in the years he had resided in Alazel. The Head Priest shot Greggory and accusing look. ¡°Keep in mind, it is not your place to interpret the will of the Goddess.¡± He turned back to face the crowd. ¡°Now, it is time to receive the blessing. All of those who will receive their Status today, please line up in front of the statue.¡± He was somewhat baffled that the Head Priest had defended him, even if the Head Priest was just attempting to maintain his dominance over the local House Tibbott. The priests were generally the ones who despised him the most, they were the ones who called him an abomination and turned everyone else against him. Dante looked over at Greggory, to gauge his reaction. Greggory¡¯s face was flushed bright red, and he was glaring daggers at him. Great¡­ Regardless of how angry Greggory was, he was clearly planning on being the first to receive his Status. He hurriedly pushed his way in front of those waiting, shifting them to the side effortlessly with his superior weight.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Dante just shrugged it off, the animosity was nothing new, but he had never seen so much hostility from Greggory before. He would need to keep his distance in the near future. Dante took his place in the back of the line, trying to draw the least amount of attention to himself as was possible. At the front of the line, Greggory, despite his poor figure and average appearance, had his shoulders held high and back straight in an attempt to look like the majestic noble he thought himself to be as the High Priest began the incantation of the blessing. A few seconds passed, and the priest stopped the High Alerian chanting and took his hand off the Goddess¡¯ statue, which was nowshining in the blinding blue light of world essence. ¡°Those who are worthy may now step forward and receive the Status.¡± The High Priest stood back with a pale face and beads of sweat on his forehead. There was a pleased smile on his face as he gestured them forward. Greggory wasted no time and stepped forward confidently, placing his right hand on the statue of the Goddess. The blue light coalescing around the statue flashed brightly momentarily, and then the world essence pushed itself into his wrist leaving a bright blue tattoo of a full moon with two crescent moons touching it, facing outward on its left and right side, the symbol of the Goddess. Dante held his breath. This was the most important part of receiving the Status. After attaining the Status, the Goddess would bestow a Classification, rarely even multiple Classifications. The Classification that you received would literally dictate the direction of your life or what you could accomplish. According to the priests teaching, the Goddess uses Classifications to shape her will. Even the High Priest is only high priest because he was bestowed the priest classification. The world essence around Greggory thickened, then forced itself into his wrist. Greggory looked down at his wrist, then smiled proudly and held it up for all to see.Twonew symbols appeared. Dante along with the entire crowd gasped in disbelief. Now that he had opted to show his Classifications, everyone was holding their breath waiting to hear which Classifications Greggory was bestowed. After all, two Classifications of mediocre standing or conflicting natures may not be better than one of the better Classifications. ¡°Warrior and Hunter Classification, even two complimenting Classifications! Well done lad, your father is sure to be proud. I¡¯m sure that with your help the prestige of Alazel will grow exponentially!¡± There was already a clear difference in the way the High Priest treated Greggory. Which made sense, the High Priest was always competing with the high priests of other towns in the nearby region. The surrounding crowd broke out in cheers and Greggory was doing his best to stand even straighter in front of the adoring gazes. He was slightly put off by the turn of events. Greggory was one of the people who cause the most problems for him. After what had happened earlier, that was sure to only get worse, and now his reputation and power in the city would skyrocket. It was a significant problem for him, he had already tried to live in all of the surrounding towns, and Alazel was the least life-threatening of them by far. The priests had a far more hands-off approach when dealing with him. With the turn of events, if he were unable to receive his Status and a Classification that would help him survive outside of the safety of the city he would have some severe problems in the near future. As Dante was lost in thought, the twenty or so boys and girls around his age were stepping forward to gain their Status and find out their Classification. Unsurprisingly, all of them opted to show off their Classification to the crowd, which was usually the case when they decided to stay in Alazel. Still, only a few of them were actually noteworthy. Most of them were the standard Chefs, Smiths, Miners, Builders, Carpenters and even a Seamstress Classification. One of the more innocent looking girls who stepped forward actually got the Priest Classification, which brought another broad grin to the High Priest''s face. After all, it had been several years since their town produced a new priest. Two boys got the Warrior Classification, and an unassuming young girl got a slightly uncommon Ranger Classification. Needless to say, the guards were happy this year. Assuming none of them left the town for adventuring, which was likely given that they had revealed their Classifications so brazenly, they would have three new recruits. Well above their yearly average of one or two. These general Classifications were a common occurrence in the Outer Edge region of Aleria where Alazel was located. Dante had heard that closer to the center of Aleria, where the world essence was denser, rarer classifications like Mage or even Warlock were far more common. It didn¡¯t really matter that the Classifications were so common though, because any class can specialize from its base level. Smiths, for example, could go from apprentice all the way to grandmaster, and even specialize further in subclasses to build certain weapons or armor that would be superior to others without the specialization. Combat Classifications were far different than crafting Classifications or any others, they mainly focused on gaining practical skills that could be used in fights rather than improving a skill in a specific craft. He was still lost in thought as he found himself suddenly in front of the Goddess¡¯s Statue. As Dante stepped forward to place his right hand on the statue, he could feel the glares digging into his back from the crowd as if they were tangible. But he ignored them as the blue light of the world essence began to pulse into his wrist and form the symbol of the Goddess. Dante sighed in relief. He had finally gotten his status.But now was the most important part, non-combat Classifications were far more common than combat ones. The blue light of the world essence flashed, far brighter than when others received their Classifications before. It was so blinding that the sun seemed to dim. The world essence became denser, collecting itself and then forced itself into his wrist. The only thing that he could comprehend was a searing pain. Pain like nothing he had ever felt in his life centered in his wrist. He had never felt anything so excruciating, the beatings he had taken weren¡¯t even comparable. So unbearable that he couldn¡¯t even cry out. Then, the light around his wrist suddenly dimmed, and the pain dimmed with it. Despite the pain he had experienced, he couldn¡¯t stop his anticipation he looked at his wrist. It''sblank? The crowd was silent. Dante couldn¡¯t do anything but stare at the lone symbol of the Goddess on his wrist with shock. Where is my Classification¡­? Instead of waiting for his permission to reveal his Classification or lack thereof, the High Priest spoke in astonishment. ¡°No Classification?¡± Everything went silent, the crowd stared in shock. Someone not getting a Classification was completely unheard of. Greggory was the first to break the silence with uproarious laughter. ¡°No Classification? I¡¯ve never even heard of someone not getting a Classification.¡± He began to laugh even harder, clearly putting on a show for the crowd as he pointed at Dante. ¡°Even the Goddess curses you.¡± He turned toward the crowd. ¡°Didn¡¯t I say that we should burn the devil spawn?¡± At this point, the crowd began to grow unruly as mutters of discontent spread. Dante couldn¡¯t make out most what they were saying, but he could hear the reoccurring words ¡°demon¡± ¡°devil spawn¡± and ¡°cursed¡± several times over their combined voices of outrage. Are they right¡­ am I truly cursed? Is that the reason¡­ I was abandoned? Dante was still just staring at his wrist with a blank look in his eyes when the High Priest stepped forward, now using magic to amplify his voice over the crowd to regain control before a riot formed. ¡°Now is a time to celebrate the ones the Goddess has truly blessed, let the festivities for the holy day of bestowal begin.¡± He gestured magnanimously toward the waiting shopkeepers. At his words, food and drink were brought out from several of the local shops and inns for the crowd as part of the festivities, immediately soothing the discontent of the crowd. The High Priest let out an audible sigh of relief. Clearly, he had been worried about the safety of the statue in the event of a riot. After a few minutes of staring at the lone symbol of the Goddess on his wrist, Dante¡¯s eyes came back into focus, and he smiled grimly. Of course. What was I expecting anyway? Dante lowered his head and made his through the crowd. Hardly anyone noticed him, and even those that did just ignored him, everyone was preoccupied with the festivities and food. He made his way back to one of his favorite alleys to sleep in unnoticed. This one was also dark, desolate, andhopefullyunpatrolled like the one he had slept in the night before. Slumping down into a shadow Dante let out an exhausted sigh, definitely not the first of the day. Oh well at least I received my status, that¡¯s something¡­ The Status would still allow him to manipulate world essence. Dante channeled some of the world essence surrounding him into the now dark blue symbol of the Goddess on his wrist. It flashed into the standard blue color of the world essence, and a blue panel appeared in front of him. Name: Dante HP: 83/100 Mana: 140/140 (+1.2/sec) Strength: 8 Constitution: 10 Dexterity: 11 Agility: 9 Intelligence: 14 Wisdom: 12 Charisma: 4 Seeing the text in front of him, Dante let out an amused laugh. He had just gone from not being able to read a word, to fully literate. At least he wasn¡¯t excluded fromthatgift of the Goddess. Being able to read Alerian usually wasn¡¯t something that people looked forward to when they received their Status, most were already literate by the time they were fourteen, but he had never been taught. Staring at the Status in front of him, he began to digest the information. I¡¯m far more intelligent than I thought¡­ Not a horrible place to start I guess¡­ The average adult male had 10 points in each attribute, while the average adult women would have less strength and constitution in exchange for more dexterity or agility on average. Charisma was based solely on appearance and the skill you had when interacting with others, but was usually around 10 also. He was utterly shocked when saw the that he had 4 Charisma. Four Charisma, what a joke. How could I possibly have four whole Charisma? The primary way to increase your attribute points was to level up and improve your Classification, but without a Classification, he could only raise them manually. He may be able to grow them a few points each, but nothing that would truly help him. This was one of the reasons why having two Classifications was such a big deal. You could level them both up and increase your attributes even faster and with fewer limitations. Greggory was a good example, he had the Warrior Classification which would mainly only increase his Strength and Constitution. However, his hunter Classification had the potential to increase both his Agility and Dexterity if he specialized correctly. That would make him far more well-rounded and a more dangerous combatant. On the top of his Status panel, next to the ¡°Attribute¡± tab that he was currently looking at was a ¡°Classification¡± tab. Interested he fed world essence into the tab changing to it. The panel shifted, and new text appeared. 4 Classifications Waiting to be Assigned The text disappeared and in the top the tab it had: Classifications Assigned: 0/4 He couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing. Didn¡¯t believe it. Was this some sort of joke? Dante quickly tabbed through the list of Classifications, there had to be dozens of them. Seeing some of theClassifications, so many emotions were flooding him thathe felt completely numb. Now, more than ever, he wondered where he had really come from. Chapter 1 Dante¡¯s Immortality - Chapter 1 He was itching to select his Classifications from the several in the list in front of him. It was hard to believe some of the selections. There were numerous Classifications he had never even heard of. Barbarian, Bard, Druid, Mage, Monk, Wizard, Thief, Warlock¡­ even Warlock? Based on what he knew, Warlock was one of the rarest Classifications, even in the centermost regions of Aleria. They stood far apart from any other magic Classifications. Unlike a Mage, who focuses on manipulating the world in general through the help of their mana, Warlocks mainly focused on battle magic. They were one of the most feared and respected Classifications in Aleria, and for good reason too. Some of the most powerful Warlocks could destroy armies singlehandedly. Dante¡¯s breathing quickened as he thought about his future possibilities. A Warlock may not mean much here in the Outer Edge region but in the inner regions of Aleria¡­ The continent of Aleria was roughly circular in shape and broken up into 6 regions. The Outer Edge region that he was currently in had the lowest density of world essence. Because of this, the creatures within it were actually some of the weakest. Despite that, he still couldn¡¯t safely leave Alazel. As you traveled inward, towards the center of Aleria, the world essence density would increase. It would make the dangers greater, but the rewards that could be earned would be increased as well. It was why the most influential households and factions fought for dominance there. Aleria, despite the peaceful teachings of the Goddess, was a place where the strong eat the weak. Different houses and groups would outright eradicate each other if they saw even the slightest weakness. It wouldn¡¯t be wrong to say that all the residents of the Outer Edge region were only there because of their weakness. Even Lord Tibbott, the current ruler of Alazel, was only in the Outer Edge region because he fled from the Outer region after a rival almost completely destroyed his family. Greggory¡¯s father was barely able to escape with his son and his life. But luckily for him, he had already specialized his Classification, making him easily strong enough to rule over a small town like Alazel. That was why he was so excited at the thought of classifying as a Warlock. Even if he were hated due to his demonic appearance, he would at least be respected and desired for his power¡­ at least he hoped he would be. His hands involuntarily went to rub his eyes, the thing that caused people to despise him the most. I suppose it doesn¡¯t matter that much anymore. Dante broke out of his wistful thoughts and focused world essence on the Warlock classification. Classification: Warlock Warlocks harness the power of destruction to smite their enemies, all magic of chaotic nature is open to the Warlock for specialization. Warlock Classification grants: +1 Intelligence per level +1 Wisdom per level Assign Warlock Classification? Yes/No Dante hesitated. Maybe I shouldn¡¯t rush into choosing my Classification, there¡¯s no way to predict how people would react to a Warlock symbol on my wrist. Many houses would rush to force a new and vulnerable Warlock into their service, either through offering them benefits or through brute force. For the time being, it would be best to act with prudence, he didn¡¯t want the knowledge of the classes he chose to get around and cause problems. What he needed was a combatant¡¯s glove. Dante frowned. Finding a combatant¡¯s glove wouldn¡¯t be a problem, but finding someone who was willing to sell one to him would be a problem. It would be far easier to tie a piece of cloth around his wrist for a makeshift glove, but doing so would only arouse the suspicion of others. A combatant¡¯s glove was exactly what it sounded like. A glove worn by those with combat Classifications on their right hand that came up far enough to hide the symbol of the Goddess as well as the symbols of their Classifications on their wrist. Not only is a Combatant¡¯s glove useful for hiding your combat Classification, but it is also seen as a symbol of status, members of noble houses often would wear one with their sigil even if they didn¡¯t have a combat Classification. Greggory, for example, had worn a glove since he was ten to flaunt his status as a noble. Generally, it was looked down upon to wear a glove before receiving your Status from the Goddess, but propriety didn¡¯t matter much in the Outer Edge of Aleria where noble houses were few and far in between. Dante selected¡®No¡¯and then ceased feeding the world essence into his Status, causing the blue panel to disappear. There would be time to figure out what Classifications he would pick later. The first thing he needed was money, without that, getting a glove would be close to impossible. It was actually somewhat fortunate that no one was willing to sell to him. The one time he had bought food from a vendor when he first came to Alazel, there was so much outrage from the priests that the resulting boycott had cost the vendor a weeks¡¯ worth of business. Needless to say, even those who would be willing to sell to him were deterred after that incident. But due to the lack of opportunities to spend the money he had scavenged, he had amassed quite the collection of copper coins in the few years he had been in Alazel. Dante stood up and walked out of the alley. Thanks to the festivities, the streets this far away from the town square were practically empty with only the occasional passerby. His stash was located towards the outskirts of the city, in a location he had stumbled on when he was looking for a safe place to sleep. Although, the word ¡®stash¡¯ could only be loosely used to describe the belongings he had hidden there. In reality, it was a collection of rags he had picked out of the trash to use as blankets during the winter as well as some spare clothes he found that didn¡¯t have too many holes in them. The only thing of actual value was a small sack with fifty-seven copper coins in. He was more than a little proud of his small fortune. Fifty-seven copper coins were almost two months¡¯ worth of pay for a general laborer in the Outer Edge region. Scavenging all of those coins was one of the few accomplishments he had in the years he spent in Alazel.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Coming up to the location of his stash, Dante looked around to make sure no one was watching him. Usually, he wouldn¡¯t risk a journey to his hiding spot until the middle of the night. However, due to the festival, he deemed it safe enough. After making sure no one was watching him Dante made his way into the alleyway. This alley was different from the others, the building on the right was a few feet taller than the one on the left, and the third building that caused the alley to come to a dead end was even taller. The resulting overhangs from the rooftops left a four-foot gap between the second and third building, with plenty of space where his bundle fit snuggly in the shadows, completely out of sight from anyone unless they climbed up to the roof themselves. Even though the location was an almost a perfect hiding space and a safe place to sleep, he didn¡¯t make it a habit of visiting often. A lesson he learned when he was followed to his last hiding spot and lost all the things he had amassed there. Dante swiftly scaled the wall of the third building, jumped up to the roof, and quickly rummaged through his belongings. Pulling out the small, rough flax sack he quickly opened it and counted the coins within. He smiled, fifty-seven copper coins should be more than enough. To the best of his knowledge a basic glove had a set price of around twenty copper coins. Hopefully, if he threw in a few more coins, he could get someone to sell one to him. Dante climbed back down to the alleyway. Then stared out at the street from the shadows, looking around to make sure no one was watching. After confirming that the coast was clear, he stepped out into the bright street and made his way towards the shops near the square. Nearing the square, he ducked his head and made his way into the crowd, trying to be as invisible as possible. Even at the age of fourteen, Dante was already as tall as most adults, ducking his head and making himself as small as possible had become a large part of keeping as much attention off himself as possible. There were three different tailoring shops in Alazel, but that didn¡¯t mean that he actually had a choice in which he was able to go to. The first store that he dismissed was the Golden Stitching. Its owner was the best tailor in town, and he only worked for the upper class. Merchants, nobles, or the best craftsmen would all go to him for clothing, and even though he would have liked a glove from there, with his fifty-seven copper coins there was no way he could afford one. The second place he dismissed was The Perfect Cut. The person who ran the shop was Iso, and just thinking of the shopkeeper made him break out in a cold sweat. The man was a combat Classification who would go out of his way to attack Dante whenever he saw him. Usually, the guards would at least treat him with some level of civility when they beat him because they were held by the city law. Iso was different. Iso could practically do anything as long as he was left breathing with little to no repercussions. He also had plenty of time to do so, since he pretty much just loitered around his shop while his wife did all of the actual tailoring. That line of thinking done, Dante found himself outside of a building that seemed to be falling apart at the seams. The building was accented by a faded sign that read ¡°The Stitchery¡± and was utterly devoid of any customers. He had never actually been inside the shop, well any shop really, and didn¡¯t know what to expect. Needless to say, his expectations were a little low. Dante released a sigh. He just needed a glove that hid his Classifications, the quality didn¡¯t really matter. Hoping the prices would at least be a little lower to match the exterior, Dante pushed open the creaky door and went into the shop. He was completely startled by what he saw. The shop was covered with different types of clothing items. The shelves were loaded with what seemed like every variety. Various styles and colors while almost none of them looked like they were new. He hadn¡¯t actually shopped for clothing before, but he could tell that it couldn¡¯t be normal. It was more like a thrift shop than a tailoring shop. That wasn¡¯t what had Dante stopped mid-step in shock though, behind the desk at the end of the shop there was a corpse sitting in a chair staring at him unblinkingly, yet it still seemed as though it was looking down on him? What. The. Fuck. It looked like an old prune, completely covered in wrinkles that distorted its figure. Its scalp had only a few wisps of white hair, and it was just staring at him unblinking. He hesitated, then very slowly began to walk backward in an effort to leave the shop. As he began to move back, the corpse twitched. No, itmoved. Its eyes narrowed at Dante as if noticing him trying to leave and being displeased with him. ¡°What do you want? Don¡¯t tell me you came here just to loiter in my shop.¡± It''salive? And that voice¡­ that thing is a woman? He was more than a little taken off-guard. The old woman had said it was her shop, but to the best of his knowledge, the shop was run by an old man. He quickly dismissed his astonishment and focused on the old woman in front of him. This shop was the only place he could get a combatant¡¯s glove, and she didn¡¯t seemthathostile, so he assumed that he was off to a good start. Time to put those four points of Charisma to use. ¡°I¡¯m looking for a combatant¡¯s glove, I don¡¯t suppose you have any for sale?¡± Dante gave his best smile to the old woman. The old woman¡¯s eyes narrowed even further, looking him up and down, noticing his tattered clothing. ¡°Of course I have a few for sale. However,youcannot afford it.¡± She looked at his wrist and the lack of Classification symbol. ¡°Don¡¯t think I will take pity on you and treat you as though you are special just because of your unfortunate situation.¡± Four points of Charisma... what a joke. Dante maintained his smile. ¡°Actually, I have been saving for quite some time and have more than enough for a combatant¡¯s glove.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± The prune looked Dante over a second time, noticing the small sack he was carrying at his side and then smiled kindly. For some reason, he found it disconcerting. ¡°Of course, I have the perfect glove for you. One moment please.¡± She actually stood up and walked to the door in the back of her shop unaided, disappearing from view. Seeing the prune move at all was a shock in and of itself. Watching her move like she was in her prime was just unsettling. She walked back in, still with a smile on her face. ¡°Ah, here we are.¡± She placed a frail-looking wooden box onto the counter and swiped her hand over the lid. Dust flew everywhere, clouding up in front of him. ¡°You¡¯re in luck, I¡¯ve been meaning to get rid of this for quite some time now.¡± She opened the box, and the glove within it could only be described by one word; ancient. Almost the entire glove was pitch black. The only thing that wasn¡¯t black was the symbol the wrapped around the wrist of the glove, a scarlet red dragon eating its own tail. What an awful color. Truthfully Dante thought the glove was rather stylish, even though it seemed somewhat threadbare, it would be the nicest piece of clothing he had ever owned in his life. Actually, it would be the first without a single hole in it. He might have liked it if not for the color¡­ ¡°Nice, isn¡¯t it? Don¡¯t worry about the price I will give it to you for a fraction of what it¡¯s worth.¡± She began to cackle as if what she said was hilarious, then held out her hand. ¡°That will be fifty-seven copper coins.¡± Dante held back his groan, but just barely. How did she¡­? ¡°Um, do you happen to have a cheaper glove that I could purchase, possibly in a different color?¡± The old prune¡¯s smile didn¡¯t waver in the slightest. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m afraid that this is the only glove that would suit you.¡± He looked pointedly at the other combatant¡¯s gloves on display that were clearly of lower quality albeit in better condition. She nodded. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that this is the only glove that would suit you in my shop.¡± Dante frowned at the last comment, and the old prune saw his expression. ¡°You can take it or leave it, I¡¯m sure other tailoring shops would appreciate your business if it¡¯s not to your liking.¡± Instead of waiting for a reply, she stuck out her hand. Motioning for him to pay. The old hag was clearly malicious. ¡°I¡¯ll take it.¡± Dante practically threw his coin-filled sack at the creature, he just wanted to get out of the shop as quickly as possible at this point. ¡°Excellent, go ahead and try it on so we can see if it fits.¡± The witch said the words rather kindly, and if he didn¡¯t know better, he might have thought that she actually cared. Dante picked up the glove and tried it on. Seeing him wear the glove, the old woman looked quite pleased with herself as she gestured toward the mirror next to her. ¡°See? It matches your eyes perfectly.¡± He looked into the mirror, and his reflection stared back at him. He had to admit that she was right, the scarlet dragon did nothing but emphasize his same colored eyes. The glove only served to make him appear even more demonic. Those red eyes were framed by his angular face, which even at the age fourteen would have been considered as handsome or charismatic on anyone else. Topping it off was his stark, bright silver hair and gaunt frame that he had earned after years of living on the streets. Altogether, Dante found it hard to blame anyone for listening to the priests when they called him a devil spawn. The glove itself was a little loose, but he didn¡¯t think much of it, he would likely grow into it eventually. It did look out of place though. The rest of his outfit was a combination of clothing ruined by holes held together by rags that he had roughly sewn in, while the glove itself looked almost like an ancient artifact. ¡°Hmm it¡¯s a little loose, but I dare say it¡¯s up to your standards.¡± The way she said the words made the insult come across quite clearly. Dante, still maintaining his smile just thanked the hag nicely and left her shop. He was walking back to one of his usual alleys, fist clenched. Not only was the old woman toying with him, but she was likely ripping him off as well¡­ It was time to choose his Classifications and leave this place. Chapter 2 Immortality ¨C Chapter 2 It was deep into the night when Dante finally got back to his alley, fifty-seven copper lighter and a new glove in tow. Slumping down into the comfort of a shadow, he couldn¡¯t help but let out a breath of exhaustion. He wasn¡¯t tired physically, but mentally he was spent. Too much had happened in one day. From getting his Status, to purchasing his new combatant¡¯s glove. Despite how tired he was, as soon as he thought about his Classifications he couldn¡¯t help but be wide awake. Dante fed world essence into his Status, and a blue panel opened up in front of him. Name: Dante HP: 92/100 Mana: 140/140 (+1.2/sec) Strength: 8 Constitution: 10 Dexterity: 11 Agility: 9 Intelligence: 14 Wisdom: 12 Charisma: 4 The Attribute tab that popped up immediately was the same as earlier, aside from the slight gain in HP. His injuries from the beating he took seemed have recovered slightly. He then fed world essence into the Classifications tab. The panel immediately shifted, and the lists of Classifications opened. He still had¡®0/4 Classifications Chosen¡¯on the top of the panel, and underneath were the lists of Classifications that he could choose from. He was already somewhat set on the Warlock Classification, but there were several Classifications that he had never heard of before. Because it would be foolish to rush into such an important decision, he read over those ones carefully. Dante tabbed through the list and pulled up the descriptions of the Classifications he hadn¡¯t yet heard of. Classification: Chronomancer Chronomancers harness and manipulate the power of space and time to vanquish their enemies, Chronomancers can further specialize in either space or time. Chronomancer Classification grants: +1 Intelligence per level +1 Wisdom per level Assign Chronomancer Classification? Yes/No Classification: Shadow Shadows use stealth and stealth magic to take out their targets before they are discovered, Shadows can further specialize in stealth or assassination. +1 Agility per level +1 Intelligence per level Assign Shadow Classification? Yes/No Classification: Blademancer Blademancersharness their mana to create numerous blades for use in combat, Blademancers can further specialize to increase their offensive capabilities with the created weapons. Blademancer Classification grants: +1 Dexterity per level +1 Wisdom per level Assign Blademancer Classification? Yes/No Classification: Blader Bladers are duel wielding masters of bladed weapons, using small, concise strikes to masterfully take out their enemies, Bladers can specialize further to increase their physical attributes. +1 Dexterity per level +1 Agility per level Assign Blader Classification? Yes/No Classification: Aristocrat Aristocrats use subtle manipulation to force friends and enemies alike into their desired path, further specialization can increase persuasion or manipulation passives. +1 Constitution level +1 Charisma per level Assign Aristocrat Classification? Yes/No Classification: Revenant Revenants increase their power when attacked to crush their enemies. Revenant can specialize in passive abilities to significantly increase their offensive power or survivability. +1 Strength per level +1 Constitution per level Assign Revenant Classification? Yes/No After reading the Classifications, Dante gave a quick prayer of thanks to the Goddess. He was more than happy that he hadn¡¯t made a rash decision and chose the Classifications that he already knew. He contemplated over several options in his head. Not just thinking about which ones he liked, but which Classifications would complement each other and eliminate each other¡¯s weaknesses. It was helpful that the Classifications gave a clue to their first specialization options. Specializing happened every ten levels for a Classification, it would make your Classification more efficient in whatever you chose to specialize in. Not only that, but at their base form a Classification gives two different attribute points per level. However, every time you gain a new specialization you will earn an extra attribute point per level depending on what skill you specialize in. This made growth somewhat exponential. The higher specialization level, the more attributes you would gain and then balancing out by making it harder to level An excellent example of this is the general Warrior Classification. When a Warrior specializes, they can choose to either specialize in an offensive ability or defensive ability. Even though the skills will vary slightly depending on the person, if a Warrior specialized in an offensive skill, it would bring one extra Strength attribute per level. Giving them a total of three attributes per level rather than the standard two that it had before specialization. It would be better to choose Classifications that gave a well-rounded set of attributes. He could take the Mage, Warlock, Chronomancer, and Blademancer Classifications, which would give him massive amounts of Intelligence and Wisdom, to become an almighty magic wielder. But if he were caught without some form of a magic shield, any sneak attack would end him because of his low Constitution. Yet another headache to think about was the possible skills that the Classifications would give him. The descriptions gave no indication of what his options would be, aside from the Artisan and Revenant Classifications which hinted at providing passive skills. Skills were tricky because each Classification could only have one skill until it was specialized. It made the choice of which skills you took all the more critical, as they are the primary determinant of total combat capability. Dante rubbed his forehead, he could feel a headache coming on. Next, he looked at the different attributes, it would be best to first identify which ones he should prioritize and narrow it down from there. Strength was first on the list, it was pretty basic, it increased your overall body strength and the amount of physical damage you would deal with weapons. Constitution was a little bit more crucial. It would improve your overall resiliency and defense, allowing you to take less damage from an injury. Your overall resiliency was shown by your maximum HP, and your current wellbeing was shown by your current HP. Dexterity was another multipurpose attribute, not only did it improve your reflexes, but your accuracy as well. Without high enough Dexterity you would have trouble keeping up with high-speed swordplay, it would be impossible to keep up with reflexes that lagged behind your agility. Agility was pretty basic, it increased your overall movement speed. Intelligence and Wisdom were different than the others though. They didn¡¯t increase your physical abilities. Intelligence was a massive overall benefit. Not only did it increase the strength of magical attacks, but it would also increase your maximum Mana by 10 points per attribute. It also had the non-combat application of boosting your ability to memorize things. Wisdom increased Mana regeneration by .1 mana per second, per attribute. It also had an equally significant benefit outside of combat, it didn¡¯t necessarily make you smarter, but it did increase your ability to interpret the world better. Basically, it increased your understanding and observational skills.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Charisma, the last attribute, was the least defined, and the one he knew the least about. It would basically make you more likable. The attribute itself was determined mostly by both looks and charm. He actually briefly considered the Aristocrat Classification. A thought that originated with from his desire to be more liked by others. Of course, he almost immediately threw the idea out, the boost in his self-confidence or self-image from the increase in Charisma was not worth nearly as much as the survivability another Classification would bring¡­ and he wasn¡¯t sure how much Charisma would be needed to balance out the negative affects his appearance would bring. Going through the attributes was completely useless, he wanted them all. Each of them seemed important, and he still couldn¡¯t make a choice. He even thought of choosing a magic Classification in the hopes that the increase in Wisdom would aid him in choosing the others. But he immediately threw the idea out, one more point of Wisdom wouldn¡¯t make a substantial enough change in his thinking to warrant rashly rushing into a Classification. Another full hour later Dante came to his decision. He first decided on Blademancer. It was the most rational choice to make. Not only did he not currently have access to a weapon, but if he chose that Classification, he would never be disarmed. After making that decision, the one after was easy. He decided to choose Blader. It seemed like it would mesh with his Blademancer Classification quite well. Next, he chose the Revenant Classification, a passive ability may not be fantastic when you only had one Classification, but with four total Classifications, and four skills, a passive ability was too good to pass up. Not only that, the Classification hinted at increasing survivability, which was something he needed if he was going to be fighting hand to hand with his Blader Classification. Finally, to round out his abilities and plug up any weaknesses, he needed a full magic Classification. He spent a good thirty minutes choosing between Warlock and Chronomancer, but after going over the benefits of each, he couldn¡¯t help but select Chronomancer. Even though Warlock was one of the rarest and most sought-after classes in all of Aleria, he had never even heard of a Chronomancer Classification. It was unlikely that it would give him the same devastating large skills that Warlock would, but space and time magic should also compliment his Blader and Blademancer Classifications quite nicely. After focusing world essence into the Classifications in his Status, he got a new line of text appeared. Do you wish to assign: Blader Classification BlademancerClassification Revenant Classification Chronomancer Classification Yes/No *Warning: Any Classification Assigned is Final and Cannot be Altered* Dante focused the world essence into¡®Yes¡¯. The panel immediately disappeared, and the symbol of the Goddess lit up as bright as it had when he accepted the Status. Worst yet, the same unbearable burning pain that he experienced earlier that day was back. He could feel the symbols for his new Classifications being seared into his wrist. Several minutes later the blue light faded and the pain disappeared. Dante stared at his wrist. Four new symbols appeared, two on each side of the Goddess¡¯ symbol. On the left, an hourglass and a blade on a forge. On the right of the Goddess¡¯ symbol was two swords crossing each other in an X, and next to it a drop of what looked like blood. He couldn¡¯t look away from them. Dante poured more world essence into the Status reopening it so he could check his new Classifications. Name: Dante HP: 104/110 Mana: 150/150 (+1.4/sec) Strength: 9 Constitution: 11 Dexterity: 13 Agility: 10 Intelligence: 15 Wisdom: 14 Charisma: 4 Dante smiled at the increase in the Attributes that he goten from his new level 1 Classifications. Next, he opened up the Classification tab on the top of the panel. World Essence waiting to be assigned: 0 Chronomancer lvl 1/10 (0/100 world essence) Blademancerlvl 1/10 (0/100 world essence) Blader lvl 1/10 (0/100 world essence) Revenant lvl 1/10 (0/100 world essence) All of the Classifications took the same amount of world essence to level, he wasn¡¯t sure if that was standard, or what the implications were if it wasn¡¯t. Different than merely manipulating it, acquiring world essence was how citizens of Aleria leveled their Classifications, and there are several ways to attain more of it. Some people got it through medicine made out of rare plants, or by eating food prepared from powerful creatures. Those people were usually wealthy nobles or craftsmen though. The standard way to acquire more world essence for combat Classifications was to kill creatures that have infused themselves with world essence to increase their strength. This is actually why the wars to stay closer to the center of Aleria, where the world essence was denser were fought so brutally. Not only will you have opportunities to acquire far more world essence in each successive region but when you kill others with combat Classifications, you will receive a portion of all the world essence they have accumulated and leveled their Classifications with. After reviewing the information, Dante fed world essence into the newSkillstab that appeared next to the Classification tab at the top of his Status panel. Skills waiting to be assigned for (4) Classifications: Classification: Chronomancer Blink: Manipulate the power of space to teleport yourself or an object a short distance away. Cost: 30 Mana Range: up to 10 Feet Choose Blink? Yes/no Time Acceleration: Accelerate time in the immediate vicinity around you, resulting in increased speed. Cost: 5 Mana per second Time Accelerated: to (1.2) times Choose Time Acceleration? Yes/No Time Deacceleration: Decelerate time around an enemy or a group of enemies, resulting in decreased speed. Cost: 10 Mana per second Time Decelerated: to (.9) times Range: up to 20 feet away in a radius of 5 feet Choose Time Deceleration? Yes/No He thought it over for a moment, all of the skills were amazing. Time Deceleration worked on enemies in an area but cost more. While it might be a better skill if Dante was going to fight in a group, it wasn¡¯t worth the extra 5 mana per second over Time Acceleration if he was going to fight by himself. He immediately threw the idea of choosing the skill away. Blink was by far his favorite out of the three though, he had heard of artifacts that could use the power of teleportation to move through space, but he hadn¡¯t thought that teleportation itself was more than a rumor. Seeing it on his list of skills was more than a pleasant surprise. The decision was already made up in his mind, but he still chose to look over the other Classification¡¯s skills first. Classification: Blademancer Create Blade: Create a permanent bladed weapon of choice with an average quality. Cost: up to 50 Mana Choose Create Blade? Yes/No Bladeshot: Create a temporary blade and shoot it to impale your enemy. Cost: 25 Mana Range: 100 feet Choose Bladeshot? Yes/No Classification: Blader Blade Acceleration: Cast a buff on yourself to double agility for a short time. Cost: 40 Mana Duration: 5 seconds Choose Blade Acceleration? Yes/No Blader¡¯s Execution: Stab an enemy in a critical location to inflict massive damage. Cost: 60 Mana Choose Blader¡¯s Execution? Yes/No Blade Dancer (Passive): Increase Dexterity by 10% Increase Agility by 10% Increase ability with bladed weapons Choose Blade Dancer (Passive)? Yes/No Classification: Revenant Revenge of the Revenant: An all-out attack on a target that increases in damage the more you have been attacked by the target. Damage: equals exactly the amount of damage taken by target Restrictions: must first sacrifice double the damage being dealt in mana Choose Revenge of the Revenant? Yes/No Revenants Will (Passive): Increase overall damage dealt by the percentage of total HP lost up to 100%. Choose Revenants Will (Passive)? Yes/No Rebirth of the Revenant (Passive): Heal up to 10% of max HP every time you kill. Choose Rebirth of the Revenant (Passive): Yes/No Dante groaned. He had thought that choosing his skills would be at least slightly easier than when he chose his Classifications. But of course, he was wrong. He could think of situations where each and every skill would be crucial. Just choosing his favorite for each Classification was difficult, but then thinking about how his skills would interplay with each other brought a headache. Deciding it would be best to start with the obvious choice he began by choosing the Create Blade skill. It was completely necessary, and the reason why he had initially chosen the Blademancer Classification. Next, he chose the passive skill Rebirth of the Revenant. There were several reasons he thought the skill to be necessary. First, it was the only self-heal he had, which spoke for itself. However, the most important reason was it would keep him in combat longer. It was important because he wouldn¡¯t be able to afford any rare medicines or food that would increase his world essence. Therefore, he would need to go out and hunt creatures to progress his Classifications. That still left him pondering over his Blader skill. After mulling it over in his head for quite some time, he decided to take the Blade Dancer passive from his Blader Classification. He wanted both of the other skills but, thought the Mana consumption for them was a bit extreme. The increase in ability with bladed weapons also interested him, even though he had no idea what it did. It sounded like it would work well with his Blademancer Classification in the future though. Not only that, but the 10% Agility and Dexterity, although it didn¡¯t seem like much at the moment, would be massive later when he had far more attribute points. That done, he looked back to his Chronomancer Classification, still choosing between Blink and Time Acceleration. It wasn¡¯t the hardest choice to make, he easily decided on Blink. He rationalized the decision because he thought Blink would bring him more survivability, and he thoroughly enjoyed surviving. He reasoned that if he got in a situation where death was imminent, he could simply blink away. While Time Acceleration would have helped him evade more quickly, it was nowhere near Blink¡¯s effectiveness. Not only that, but Dante could easily Blink behind someone for even more efficient attacking. He could also use the ability to teleport items, even though he didn¡¯t know how it would be useful yet. Overall, he was more than pleased with the skill. Are you sure you want to choose: Skill: Blink Skill: Create Blade Skill: Blade Dancer (Passive) Skill: Rebirth of the Revenant (Passive) Yes/No *Warning: any skills chosen are final* After a moments consideration, Dante chose¡®Yes¡¯. The result was slightly anticlimactic compared to the blue glow and burning sensation he had experienced earlier when choosing his Classifications. Nothing happened when he chose his skills, he just had new a new awareness that he didn¡¯t have before. Looking around heknewhe could instantly travel anywhere roughly ten feet away. The new awareness even went about ten feet up, which he thought was interesting. Not only that, he could create weapons by just thinking of them and feeding Mana into the thought. Dante thought of a spear and fed a full 50 mana into it. A standard looking spear made entirely out of metal appeared out of thin air in his hand. He was taken a little off-guard by the weight and dropped it immediately, causing a large clattering sound as it fell to the ground. Maybe a spear made entirely out of metal is a bad idea until I increase my strength¡­ That line of thinking done, Dante began to play with the Create Blade skill. He noticed when he made the spear that he didn¡¯tneedto use a full 50 mana, so next he produced a short sword of comfortable weight with only 25 mana. The basic-looking short sword came out slightly chipped with a somewhat dull edge. He had been hoping he could just use less mana on smaller weapons and get the same quality, but that didn¡¯t seem to be the case. A pleasant surprise came when he held the short sword though. He seemed to have an affinity with the weapon, most likely from the Blade Dancer¡¯s increased ability with bladed weapons passive. When he swung the swords, the swings came out gracefully, like he was flowing through water. He still didn¡¯t know how to properly use a sword, and if he got in a sword fight with a real combatant he would be chopped to pieces instantly, but the new affinity with the weapon definitely increased his overall offensive ability. Something about the cold steel on his hands when he held the sword just felt right. A little more experimenting with the weapons he made and he found out that he could actually break them up and make them disappear, even at a distance. He wasn¡¯t sure what sort of range he could do it at, but assumed they would at least need to be in his vision. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t seem to get any mana back. Needless to say, he made plans to test Create Blade and Blink far more extensively. For the time being Dante used up almost all of his remaining mana, creating two plain, long daggers that slightly curved towards the end of the blades for a full 50 mana a piece. That done he sat back down into the shadows of the alley so that he could sleep for the few remaining hours of the night. Tomorrow he would leave Alazel. Chapter 3 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 3 Thankfully, he awoke from his slumber completely undisturbed. Dante sat up and looked around the dark alley, finding it empty, he gathered his two new daggers and prepared to set off. He glanced up to check the time, and judging by the rays of light just coming in from the top of the alley it was still early morning. Just as he was going to set out into the bright street, Dante stopped and frowned, then looked down at his two daggers. Making them last night had seemed like a good idea, but stepping out into the streets with those who despised him while he was armed didn¡¯t seem like the smartest decision. After a moment¡¯s hesitation, he broke up the daggers in his hands, causing them to fade into nothingness. Although 100 mana seemed like a lot, given his maximum mana was 140, thanks to his relatively high Wisdom attribute recovering his mana at a rate of 1.4 mana per second, it wasn¡¯t that big of a deal. After breaking the two daggers up, Dante stepped out into the crowded street. He began walking down the right side of the road, towards the gate while trying to keep attention off of himself and the glove he was shielding from view. The road wasn¡¯t nearly as crowded as it was before the festival the day before, but there was still enough traffic flow from the morning rush to keep a decent level of anonymity. He had found that there were fewer problems for him when people weren¡¯t loitering around. It was a surprisingly uneventful walk. Usually, he would get hassled, at the very least, if he walked through Alazel in the open. He assumed that the indifference was due to the jovial atmosphere that carried over from the prior day¡¯s festivities. Finally making it down to the gate leading out of Alazel, Dante, who was looking at guards to see who was on duty, froze mid step. Standing by the gates, with four other guards, was Greggory. He couldn¡¯t help but groan internally at the prospect of dealing with Greggory. Even though Greggory would often go out of the way to cause problems for him, there was no hatred between them¡­ until yesterday. The day before, when Alazel¡¯s High Priest admonished Greggory for nearly inciting a riot to kill him, it was clear that Greggory had somehow blamed him for the entire event. Dante didn¡¯t take another step, and was unsure of whether or not to proceed. Alazel only had one gate out of the city, so he would either have to wait until Greggory left, or he would have to just go through despite the problems that it could cause. He even thought of scaling the wall but dismissed the idea almost immediately. The walls were roughly thirty feet tall, and even though hecouldclimb it, he would definitely be seen and caught attempting it. After mulling his options over, and deciding it was best to leave the city as soon as possible, Dante headed towards the gate. Alazel wasn¡¯t a heavily guarded town, none of the towns in the Outer Edge region were, the guards were only there to stop any hostile creatures from entering the city. They didn¡¯t even check anyone, leaving or entering. They just stood there, watching people pass with a bored expression on their faces. Despite the fact that they didn¡¯t actually stop anyone, he was unsure of how they would treat him. He hadn¡¯t even attempted to leave Alazel since arriving several years prior. And even though there was a possibility that they would cause problems for him if he were noticed, he didn¡¯t attempt to sneak past the attention of the guards. Getting caught trying to sneak past would only result in larger problems. As Dante walked through the gate, two of the guards noticed him but made no move to stop him, the other two were chatting near Greggory, and Greggory seemed preoccupied with¡­ nothing. Greggory was just staring at a patch of dirt with a bored, vacant look on his face as the two guards next to him were chatting about some barmaid at the Black House inn. When he got outside of the gate and thought he was in the clear, Dante glanced back to make sure Greggory hadn¡¯t seen him. Just as he glanced back, one of the guards talking near Greggory looked up, staring directly at him. He nudged Gregory to get his attention. Dante cursed internally. After being nudged, Greggory looked up, expression still bored. Well, bored for a split second. As soon as he saw Dante, his face twisted in rage. ¡°You! My father is mad atmebecause ofyou! I shouldn¡¯t be here watching the gate all damn day!¡± His turned crimson. ¡°You dare show yourself inmypresence?¡± He had expected Greggory to be upset about the prior day¡¯s events, but the way Greggory exploded was definitely unexpected. Had he known that Greggory was on guard duty as a result of their interaction the day before, he definitely wouldn¡¯t have walked through the gate so brazenly. At this point, he thought it would be best to diffuse the situation as much as possible. He had all but given up on the thought that his four Charisma was at all useful, but couldn¡¯t help but give it another shot. Dante put on a docile air, then tried to act as humble as possible to appeal to Greggory¡¯s ego. ¡°I¡¯m sorry that I inconvenienced you, my lord. I truly hope you can forgive me.¡± Greggory, who was still fuming, opened his mouth to speak, but Dante cut him off quickly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my lord. I know that I have angered you, and wouldn¡¯t dare stay in Alazel for another day.¡± Greggory paused. Surprisingly, he visibly calmed and even smiled. ¡°Oh, if that¡¯s the case then I hope you have a safe journey.¡± Dante froze. There is no way my four Charisma did¡­ that. ¡°Thank you, my lord, I¡¯ll be on my way.¡± Dante turned and made his way down the rough dirt road, quickly disappearing out of sight.
Greggory Tibbott Greggory turned to the two idiots who were making sure he didn¡¯t shirk his duties. ¡°Roderick, Isaac I have a job for you.¡± The two turned to look at him. Both of them were only a few years older than he was and still in their late teens. Roderick was an ideal Warrior with his enormous bulk, even in his teens he looked like he was chiseled from stone. He was easily the best Warrior out of the youths in Alazel, and would have been in line to be one of his father¡¯s personal guards had he not been so incredibly stupid. His dopey face and mop of brown hair completely destroyed any intimidation his bulk might have brought him. Unsurprisingly, it was Roderick who jumped to speak first. ¡°Greggory, we were told to stay here and make sure you didn¡¯t leave the gate. If we leave we¡¯ll get in trouble with the guard captain.¡± Greggory didn¡¯t bat an eyelash, he disregarded Roderick and turned to Isaac. Isaac was the one he had really been speaking to from the beginning anyways. Isaac stood attentive, waiting for orders. He had a relatively standard appearance, slightly tall with brown hair and a plain face that wouldn¡¯t be remembered in a crowd. Isaac was anything but normal though. Not only did Isaac have a somewhat uncommon Classification, the Ranger Classification, but Isaac was the most reliable person he knew. Isaac had helped him in every plan he had thought up since they were children, despite the relatively large age gap between them. Always the loyal helping hand when he needed it. ¡°What do you need of me, my lord?¡±Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Greggory smiled. Isaac knew he would be the future lord of Alazel, and didn¡¯t dare question his orders. It also helped that he didn¡¯t mind getting his hands dirty, the only reason Isaac was sitting out here watching him all day was because he forced himself on some barmaid. ¡°I want you to go hunt that bastard down and burn him alive.¡± There was no change in expression on Isaac¡¯s face after hearing Greggory¡¯s request. ¡°I can hunt him down and deal with him. But burning him alive would be somewhat challenging.¡± Greggory smiled at Isaacs words and rummaged around in his pockets briefly. After a moment he pulled out an ordinary-looking stone with a single rune carved into it. Isaac¡¯s eyebrows rose seeing the stone that Greggory pulled out. ¡°Use this, just be sure to bring it back.¡± His words carried a clear threat, he couldn¡¯t afford to lose the enchanted fire stone that his father had given him. Isaac nodded, then grabbed the stone. ¡°Come, Roderick. We have a job to do.¡± ¡°But the guard cap-¡± Roderick was stopped mid-sentence as Isaac cuffed him in the head and began walking through the gate. Roderick paused for a moment looking between the glare that Greggory was giving him and Isaacs back, which was getting further away. Roderick released a sigh, then chased after Isaac.
Dante trekked through woods, a created sword swinging in his hand as he cleared the underbrush in his path. The Blade Dancer passive was already showing its value, the increased ability with bladed weapons allowed him to move forward completely unhindered while his eyes were scanning side to side for movement. The only time he stopped was when he occasionally scanned the forest behind him. During the entire journey his ears were straining trying to pick up the slightest sound. He wasn¡¯t sure what he was even looking for, but the memory of Greggory smiling at him was enough to keep him moving on high alert. As soon as he was out of the gate¡¯s view, he immediately left the rough dirt road and headed straight into the forest. He was almost certain he was in some form of danger, and even if he wasn¡¯t, going into the depths of the forest wasn¡¯t too big of a setback since he had no set destination. The forest had its own dangers though. Not only did several types of pack animals and lone predators fill the forest, but the area around Alazel was also riddled with mountains, cliffs, and ravines. All of those dangers were aided by the thick foliage that obscured his vision Although he planned to head towards the center of Aleria eventually, there was no way he could survive if he did. He first needed to work on leveling up his Classifications and getting combat experience. Even the difference between Outer Edge region, which he was currently in, and the Outer region which was the next region in, was massive. Greggory¡¯s father, for example, was a ruler of a whole town in the Outer Edge region, but things were completely different in the Outer region. In the Outer region he was just one more combatant. Even worse was the gap in power between the Chaos region and Outer region. Just thinking about the Chaos region gave Dante an involuntary shudder. Dante came back to himself, something felt¡­ off. His hair was standing on end, and he could feel goosebumps spreading all over his body. It was not an unfamiliar sensation; his senses had become quite acute after being hunted by guards and anyone else looking to cause problems with him. Dante stopped and focused on his surroundings. After a few minutes, a mirthful laugh came from behind a large tree directly in front of him. A man stepped out only a few feet in front of him. ¡°How did you know we were waiting for you?¡± His heart sank, he recognized the person in front of him. It was Isaac, the one who had nudged Greggory earlier that morning. Not only that, but Isaac saidwe. Dante quickly spun, checking behind him. His caution elicited another laugh from Isaac. ¡°Not to worry he is over here.¡± Isaac gestured to a tree behind him. ¡°Just doesn¡¯t like to get his hands dirty.¡± Isaac turned to look back at the tree ¡°Get out here Roderick.¡± After shouting to Roderick, Isaac turned back to Dante. ¡°We had planned to surprise you¡­ Not to worry though, it''s not as though we actually need an ambush to deal with you.¡± He glanced down at Dante¡¯s combatant glove. As soon as Roderick stepped out from behind the tree, Isaac motioned him forward. ¡°What are you standing there for? Hurry up and grab him, we need to get this over with before the gates close.¡± Roderick only hesitated for a brief moment, but then seemed to steel his resolve. He pulled a sword from its sheath at his side and charged Dante point first. ¡°Grab him, don¡¯t kill him yet you moron.¡± It was too late, Roderick¡¯s sword was already in full swing, coming down towards his neck. As soon as Dante saw the sword swinging toward his unprotected neck he acted on impulse, Blinking behind Isaac. At first, he had just meant to evade the attack while also removing himself from Isaac¡¯s line of sight. Something that would have been helpful if Isaac unslung the bow from his shoulder. But as soon as he appeared behind Isaac with the sword that he had been clearing the underbrush in his hand, he realized the opportunity that he had opened up for himself. There was a moment of hesitation. He had never killed before, and he didn¡¯t want to. But at the same time, he needed to kill in order to survive. There was no way he would make it in Aleria as a lone combatant if he didn¡¯t, and if he faltered, it was likely that either Isaac or Roderick would kill him. Gritting his teeth, Dante lifted his sword and slit Isaac¡¯s throat. The feeling was sickening. He had put all of his strength into the cut, causing the sword to cut deeply. The sound of the blade scraping against the bone inside of Isaac¡¯s neck reached his ears first, taking him completely off-guard. Then the hot blood sprayed out from the gaping hole in his neck, coating his entire arm. It made him want to throw up. Dante completely froze up, unable to process anything but what he had just done. While he stood there, unmoving, Roderick, turned around in confusion. Only to see Isaac¡¯s corpse slumped on the ground, a pool of blood draining from it. The two of them stared at each other for a moment, both of their eyes were wide, each of them having a difficult time coping with the scene in front of them. Then Roderick roared as he charged at Dante with sword extended. Dante hesitated for a split second, but then he broke out of his absentmindedness and Blinked away, escaping to the forest. He wouldn¡¯t fool himself into thinking he could take Roderick on just because he surprised Isaac. Roderick¡¯s increased Constitution and resiliency from his Warrior Classification wouldn¡¯t allow him to cut his throat as easily as he had with Isaac. Occasionally during the chase, Roderick would come close enough to put himself in sword range, and every time Dante would Blink ahead to keep his lead. Thankfully the chase in between the Blinks lasted more than long enough for his Mana to recharge. He had a clear lead in Agility, but the underbrush hindered his movements while Roderick just trampled over any obstacle in his path. The chase had seemed to have no end in sight. Or at least it didn¡¯t until Dante, pushing through the foliage, rushed out onto a clearing that ended in a cliff. He was barely able to stop his momentum by the time he came to the edge of the cliff. Dante looked down to judge the fall, the drop was massive. If he fell, his body would be completely flattened. As he glanced over the edge, Roderick crashed into the clearing. Completely cornering him on the cliff. Dante muttered a curse, his options seemed rather limited. Wait¡­ The situation was nowhere near as dangerous as he had initially thought. Dante threw his long-bladed weapon directly at Roderick, allowing the Warrior to easily bat it away. After that, he backed up to the edge of the cliff, doing his best to look terrified, which wasn¡¯t difficult in the slightest. He repeatedly looked at the drop, then back up to Roderick, as if questioning if he should die from the fall or die to Roderick¡¯s blade. Roderick saw Dante¡¯s expression and smiled as he charged sword first. Waiting until the last second, Dante blinked behind Roderick and kicked him off the cliff¡¯s edge. A terrified scream that didn¡¯t seem to match Roderick¡¯s massive frame echoed out for a few brief seconds until it was abruptly cut off with a thud. Looking over the edge of the cliff Dante winced. Roderick was dead, without a doubt. After staring at Roderick¡¯s disfigured corpse for a moment, he began to contemplate what he should do next. Thinking it over, he decided to go back to where he killed Isaac, it was a possibility that he would have a few useful items on his person. He also thought of looting Roderick¡¯s body but decided that traversing the cliff wouldn¡¯t be worth what he would get. It took Dante over an hour to get back to where Isaacs corpse was located. Thankfully it wasn¡¯t hard to find, the trampled path that Roderick created led him directly to it. Seeing Isaacs body on the ground, Dante couldn¡¯t help but grimace. He didn¡¯t regret killing the two guards in the slightest, after all, they would have killed him if they had the opportunity. But the act of killing itself didn¡¯t sit well with him. Moving to Isaac¡¯s corpse, Dante began to search through his clothes. The first thing he found was a small coin purse with seventeen copper coins. It drastically improved his mood, he had lost all of his money when the hag had cheated him. The second thing he found was far more valuable. It was a medium-sized stone that fit comfortably in the palm of his hand, and on the face of the stone was a small rune. He had seen similar items in the past, and could tell from a glance that the stone was enchanted. An item could only be enchanted by someone with the Enchanter Classification, in the Outer Edge region of Aleria, such items were almost nonexistent and worth at least double their weight in gold. His unexpected harvest was enormous. He didn¡¯t know what the stone actually did though, so he placed it on the ground and fed world essence into it, similarly to how he would activate his Status. The stone glowed for a second, then the ground around it was instantly set ablaze. Dante ceased feeding world essence into it, then stamped out the fire. After waiting for the rock to cool he picked it up gently. Not only was it an invaluable object, but it also solved the issue of him building a fire. Something he hadn¡¯t really considered. After taking the stone, Dante looked over Isaacs clothing. He and Isaac were roughly the same height. The only problem was that he had a gaunt frame while Isaac¡¯s was far closer to what would be considered average. After some thought, he decided to take the clothes. They were in decent condition and far better than anything that he had on. Even though they were completely soaked in Isaac¡¯s blood, the stains could easily be washed out when he found a stream. After stripping Isaac of all of his belongings, Dante sat back and examined himself. He was practically covered in blood, even his arms were soaked with it¡­ Dante did a double take. Only his left hand was covered in blood. The glove on his right hand was completely dry, while the rest of his arm was coated. That wasn¡¯t the only thing that was strange about his glove though, there was a new scarlet symbol under the dragon, so tiny he could barely make it out. It was the symbol of the Ranger Classification. Chapter 4 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 4 Dante stood over the corpse, completely covered in blood as he stared at the change in his combatant¡¯s glove. The lack of blood might have been a coincidence, but the small symbol of the Ranger Classification definitely wasn¡¯t. Curious, Dante knelt by Isaac¡¯s corpse and pressed his gloved hand into a small pool of blood to the side, then observed it carefully. Because the glove was pitch black, aside from the scarlet dragon and the new scarlet Ranger symbol, he couldn¡¯t actually see a red stain of blood on it. The glove just looked wet for a split second, then dry. He couldn¡¯t help but be slightly stunned at the disappearance of the blood. He had thought it probable that the glove was somehow absorbing it from the lack of blood earlier, but seeing it actually happen before his eyes, and so quickly, sent a shiver down his spine. Next, Dante took the glove off and inspected his right hand. The hand was completely dry. He put the glove back on and looked at Isaac¡¯s corpse, he shrugged and decided to test the glove further. Dante shoved his right hand deeply into the hole he cut into Isaac''s throat. Then, holding back his bile, he pushed down on Isaac¡¯s torso with his left hand in an attempt to get more blood to come out. He was successful. Blood was squirting out of Isaac¡¯s arteries and into the hole cut into his throat. After leaving it in for a moment, Dante pulled his hand back out. It was, of course, dry. Even the cavity in Isaac¡¯s throat was almost completely dry. There was a new development though. He thought he might have imagined it, but the ancient looking threadbare glove actually seemed slightly less tattered. He wasn¡¯t sure if he was correct or not, so he decided that he would test it later when he wasn¡¯t as queasy. For the time being, he was finished desecrating the dead. After standing up from Isaac¡¯s corpse, he briefly thought about going back to where Roderick¡¯s body was and testing his blood. But after a moments consideration, he decided it wasn¡¯t worth it, even if he could acquire a new symbol on his glove. Roderick¡¯s Warrior Classification was nothing special. He would have plenty of opportunities in the future to acquire it. Looking up at the sun peeking through the foliage, he noted that there were only a few hours of sunlight left. He needed to find a place to sleep for the night, and hopefully something to eat, as soon as possible. Before doing that, he decided to check the Classification tab on the Status. He should have gotten some world essence from killing Isaac. Manipulating world essence into his Status, he opened the Classifications section. World Essence waiting to be assigned: 127 Chronomancer lvl 1/10 (0/100 world essence) Blademancer lvl 1/10 (0/100 world essence) Blader lvl 1/10 (0/100 world essence) Revenant lvl 1/10 (0/100 world essence) Recent World Essence gain: 73 World Essence for killing: Ranger 54 World Essence for killing: Warrior He was both surprised and delighted that he had gotten credit for killing Roderick. He assumed that it was either because he was the direct cause of Roderick¡¯s death or the last person to hit him, but regardless of the reason, it was a massive benefit. He also thought that it was strange that Roderick had given him so much less world essence than Isaac when it had seemed more difficult to kill him. Although, after thinking it over for a moment, he realized that it was more than fair. The only reason he had killed Isaac so quickly was a mixture of a surprise and Isaac¡¯s low Constitution. Had Isaac chosen to pick him off with a bow instead of brazenly walking out from behind a tree, he would undoubtedly be the one dead right now. Not only that, but it was likely that Isaac was a higher overall level. After all, he had a more senior guard status in Alazel than Roderick. After looking at the recent gains, Dante looked over his different Classifications. He had more than enough world essence to level up one of them, but couldn¡¯t decide which would be best. After fighting Roderick, he had realized how much the Constitution¡¯s resiliency bonus could help him in a fight, and the increased Strength would be more than welcome in any situation if he decided to level the Revenant Classification. He wasn¡¯t too worried about the increased Dexterity or Agility from the Blader Classification in the immediate future. No one alive knew about his Blink skill, so the massive advantage in surprise would cover over his poor ability with weapons or low speed. Blademancer or Chronomancer would definitely both be useful if leveled. Both Classifications would increase his mana regeneration, and the time he could stay in combat. After thinking it over, Dante decided to level up the Revenant Classification first. After all, he hadn¡¯t had any issues running out of mana so far. He knew that if he were in combat for an extended period of time he would basically be dead as soon as couldn¡¯t Blink away, but decided it would be best to increase both his offensive and defensive capabilities for the time being. He focused on his Revenant Classification and poured world essence into it until it leveled and looked at the new text that popped up. Revenant has reached level 2 Attributes have been added: +1 Strength +1 Constitution Skill description for Rebirth of the Revenant (Passive) has been updated World Essence waiting to be assigned: 27 Chronomancer lvl 1/10 (0/100 world essence) Blademancer lvl 1/10 (0/100 world essence) Blader lvl 1/10 (0/100 world essence) Revenant lvl 2/10 (0/200 world essence) For a moment, Dante just stared at the text, mind reeling. There was a lot of information to take in on the Status panel in front of him. The thing that drew the most of his attention was his passive skill, Rebirth of the Revenant, changing upon leveling up the class. This was something Dante was unaware of, he had always heard that skills could have a massive change upon specializing if upgraded, and assumed that was the only time they changed. He was itching to go and check out his Skills tab, but first examined the amount of world essence his Revenant Classification would need to reach level 3. It had doubled to 200 world essence, specializing his Classifications would be harder than he thought if it continued to double every level. Next, he opened the Skills tab to see how his passive, Rebirth of the Revenant, had changed. Rebirth of the Revenant (Passive): Heal up to 11% of max HP every time you kill. He was ecstatic at the skill change. A 1% increase in his heal every time he killed wasn¡¯t a big deal, but if he got a 1% increase to it every time he leveled up his Revenant Classification, the overall change would be massive when it was level 10.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. That done, Dante ceased manipulating world essence into the Status, closing it. He still needed to find food and a place to sleep for the night.
A few hours later, he was feeling quite pleased with himself. After leaving Isaac¡¯s body, Dante immediately resumed trekking through the forest, looking for a suitable location to sleep safely. While walking through the forest, he stumbled across several small creatures and animals that would dart across his path briefly and disappear into the underbrush. At first, he was unprepared, but eventually, he readied himself to attack the swift creatures. It took him several failed attempts, but after a bit of practice he got the timing right and Blinked into the path of a small rabbit. Using the sword that he was clearing the underbrush with, he cleaved it in two. Satisfied with his harvest, he set off to find a location to cook his rabbit with a new feeling of invigoration. It didn¡¯t take him long, he stumbled upon a small stream about thirty minutes after killing making the kill. The stream seemed like a suitable location, it practically sliced the forest in two. It was shallow, but the large stony banks on each side of it indicated that the streams water levels were far lower than they usually were. He couldn¡¯t help but feel relieved when he saw the stream, he was going to be sick if he was coated in blood much longer. After washing the blood off of himself and Isaac¡¯s clothes, Dante gathered some dry wood from the surrounding forest and started a small fire with the enchanted stone. Then, after laying Isaac¡¯s clothing out to dry by the fire, he began to cook the small rabbit he had killed earlier. Yes, he was feeling quite pleased with himself. Or at least he did until the howling started. As soon as the sun set, the first howls pierced the air. He had just finished his small meal and was preparing to sleep when he first heard them. At first, it was far off in the distance and spread out, so he completely ignored it. But his false sense of security didn¡¯t last as the howling continued, not only did it grow louder,but it sounded more frenzied as well. It was as if the wolves had picked up a trail and were on the hunt. Getting worried, and deciding it was better to be safe rather than sorry, he cast Create Blade twice for a full 100 mana while he would still have time for the mana to regenerate. He could have used the blade he had been clearing the underbrush with, but instead, he left it alone in favor of the style he had created when he first tried the Create Blade ability back in Alazel. The two weapons were like a mix between a dagger and a short sword that curved up towards the end of the blade. Feeling comfort in the cold steel that was now in his hands, Dante sat with his back towards the fire, facing the forest and ready for any threat. He didn¡¯t need to wait long. The howling grew even louder. It felt as though the wolves were right on top of him, surrounding him on all sides. As Dante peered into the forest, he saw nine sets of golden yellow eyes that were reflecting the firelight back to him. The howling had stopped, but the glowing eyes were far, far more terrifying. Especially the wolf that was directly in front of him. Not only were its eyes slightly larger than the others, but they were almost half a length higher than the others as well. Dante uttered a curse, he would have taken Isaac or Roderick any day over the horse sized wolf and the rest of its pack. Dante stood up, the two large daggers in his hands and fire to his back. As if on cue, the wolves began to stalk out of the forest. The large wolf stood directly in front of him, its hackles rising as it growled at him. He watched the wolf carefully, unwilling to take his focus on the behemoth, and the smaller wolves took the opportunity to encircle him. Shit. He was pretty sure that he could kill off the smaller wolves by Blinking next to them and slashing at their vitals, but there was no way he would be able to kill the eight small wolves with his small mana pool. Each Blink cost him 30 mana, regardless of the distance teleported, so he would be able to do it around five times in a row before running out of mana if he paused between each Blink. Also, with his Wisdom, it would take around twenty seconds to store up enough Mana for another Blink. And all of that didn¡¯t even bring the growling horse wolf that was staring at him with his hackles rising into consideration. After thinking it over, he was fairly confident that he wouldn¡¯t survive the fight. Still, if he was going to die, he would at least take some of them with him. Going against his instincts, he decided he would kill the horse sized wolf first. He knew that if he was going to have a shot at surviving the encounter, he would need to use the Rebirth of the Revenant passive. So, saving it for last wasn¡¯t the best option because he wouldn¡¯t be able to kill the smaller wolves to heal afterward. Calming himself as well as he could, Dante lunged at the massive beast. The sword on his left swiping sideways into its mouth in an attempt to ward off its fangs, the blade on his right coming up from below, sinking into the flesh of its chest cavity. The sword that he swung at the wolf¡¯s mouth hit the back of its jaw, but the wolf¡¯s momentum wasn¡¯t slowed in the slightest, it fell on him, trying to snap at his neck as he just barely held it back with his sword. A few seconds after his sword plunged into its chest, the wolf began to cry out and struggle viciously while it pinned him to the ground. He cried out in pain as its claws raked across his ribs. He wanted to roll away from the wolf instead of Blinking to preserve his mana, but he couldn¡¯t dislodge the sword buried in the wolf¡¯s chest cavity while pinned on the ground. Leaving the sword would mean that he would need to create a new one, and he didn¡¯t have enough mana to spare on his Create Blade skill. Dante saw movement out of the corner of his eye, a smaller wolf was making a lunge for his exposed neck while he was pinned. Gritting his teeth at the mana cost, he Blinked to the furthest wolf away that was still within his teleportation range. As soon as he appeared, he stabbed both of his long daggers into its jugular, fatally wounding it. As the creature died, he could feel an itching sensation run across his ribs in the same location that the horse wolf had raked him with its claws. Dante uttered a silent prayer of thanks for his choice in the Rebirth of the Revenant skill. He had almost no time to react as a wolf launched itself at him from the left, jaws snapping as it sailed through the air. Dante defended with the same method that he used against the horse wolf, one sword lodging itself in the wolf¡¯s mouth to ward off its attack, the other plunging into its chest. He dispatched the wolf rather easily, especially compared to when he tried the same move against the larger wolf. He was just beginning to grow confident from the kill, thinking that he may survive after all, when yet another wolf snuck up on him from behind and bit deeply into his ankle. Dante grunted in pain, the wolf¡¯s teeth penetrated to the bone, drastically limiting his mobility. Turning to the wolf in rage, he hacked down with all his might, cutting deeply into its neck. The sword connected with its vertebrae to a sickening snapping noise, downing the wolf immediately. Dante immediately looked up and took in the scene around him, two wolves were now lunging directly at him while the other three smaller wolves began to circle him, looking for an opportunity to attack his flank. Surprisingly, the horse wolf sat back, eyes watching him wearily. It seemed as though his inaccurate attack on its chest cavity had injured it far more than he had thought. Dante grimaced as he tried to pivot on his mangled ankle, the Rebirth of the Revenant passive had only been able to partially heal it in the short time it had to work. The two wolves were almost upon him, and unable to fight back due to his crippled leg, Dante Blinked away to the one that was circling behind him, easily dispatching it. The new kill healed him enough to put pressure on his leg again. Only four of the smaller wolves were left after using Blink twice. Thanks to the few seconds in between Blinks to regenerate his mana, he had a little over 100 mana left. He would likely be able to dispatch three of the smaller wolves with his remaining mana by Blinking three times, but then he would be up against the horse wolf without Blink for almost twenty seconds. Seeing the intelligence in the wolf¡¯s eyes, he felt a chill go down his spine. He decided that instead of wasting his mana on the wolves that were easily dispatched, relatively speaking, it would be best to use his remaining Blinks on the larger wolf. He went berserk, blinking into the large wolf while simultaneously impaling it with his daggers. Its jaw immediately snapped toward him as it tried to pierce him with its massive fangs. Dante Blinked a second time to evade the fangs, he appeared on its left side, sinking his daggers back into its fur. The wolf showed its intelligence, reacting instantly and viciously biting down on his left shoulder. Dante gasped in pain, and instead of letting go of him, the wolf began to shake him side to side, tearing apart flesh as it held his shoulder in its mouth. His shoulder was completely disfigured, flesh hanging off of the wound and bone could clearly be seen as it reflected off the firelight. His vision blurred from the excruciating pain. Dante screamed in agony while he struggled to maintain consciousness. Fueled by pure bloodlust, he Blinked out of the wolf¡¯s mouth and ten feet directly in the air. Using the momentum from his fall, he used his full weight, along with the broad dagger he was still holding in his right hand, to impale the wolf through its neck. He could feel the wolf¡¯s life fading as the blood sprayed from the new hole he had created in it. He had finally vanquished his enemy, but the feeling bloodlust wasn¡¯t satiated, if anything it only grew stronger. Still overwhelmed by the pain in his shoulder, Dante Blinked, dispatching yet another wolf. Rebirth of the Revenant began to kick in from his two fresh kills, and his shoulder was starting to itch as it healed itself. Now completely out of mana, Dante prepared himself for the final three wolves, two of which were lunging through the air at him from both his left and right side. Gritting his teeth, he threw his bad arm into the wolf jaw, while stabbing the other through its mouth with his sword. The pain that shot through his arm as the wolf bit down and yanked on his bad shoulder was excruciating. He yanked the blade free, then slammed it into the last wolf, killing it instantly. The final wolf growled at him but made no move to attack. It seemed unsure of itself, but at the same time made no move to retreat. The two of them stared at each other for a few seconds, neither making a move. Then, as soon as he had enough mana, Dante Blinked behind it and finished it off. Dante stood above the wolves¡¯ corpses, his silver hair and red eyes barely reflected in the firelight as his wounds healed themselves. He smiled, almost unable to believe that he was still alive. It was strange though, the bloodlust that he had never felt in his life was still there, and it was growing. Before he could question it, the weight of the world came down upon him, and he faded into unconsciousness. Chapter 5 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 5 Greggory Tibbott Despite drowning himself in ale, he was still in a rather foul mood. After sending Isaac, and that utter moron Roderick, to burn the cursed demon spawn alive, neither of them had returned. The main gate to Alazel had closed hours ago, and he was becoming more than a bit worried. Greggory looked around the inn and frowned. He and the innkeeper were the only people still awake at this hour. If he had been anyone else, he would have been kicked out or sent to his room an hour or two ago, but the innkeeper didn¡¯t dare offend him. Greggory¡¯s fingers were tapping on the table in thought. Where in the hell did they go? At first, he had thought that Isaac had run off with the enchanted stone, but he dismissed the idea. Isaac wasn¡¯t stupid, if he dared flee, he would be hunted down and killed with little effort. No, they must have run into some sort of issue. Perhaps they weren¡¯t able to find him and didn¡¯t dare show their faces... Yes, that had to be it. That line of thinking done, Greggory visibly calmed. He didn¡¯t care if Isaac died, much less Roderick, but if he lost the enchanted stone his father had gifted him upon receiving his two Classifications, he would be in deep shit. ¡°Would you like more ale, my lord?¡± Greggory looked up to see the innkeeper and cursed Isaac for what seemed like the thousandth time that night. He had come to celebrate getting his Classifications at the Black House inn with a few of his friends the previous day. At some point in the night when they were all deep into their drinks, Isaac had forced himself on the inn keeper¡¯s daughter who was serving them drinks. It had seemed like great fun at the time, but now, the bastard had his beautiful daughter hovelled up in some back room while he was stuck drinking alone. Bastard. He had a lot of steam he needed to blow off from all the worrying he had been doing that day, and wasn¡¯t going to let the prude innkeeper get away with stopping his fun. Greggory stood from his chair, and when the innkeeper saw him getting up, a brief look of relief flashed across the man¡¯s face. Which only made him even angrier. ¡°Are you finished for the night, my lord?¡± Greggory stumbled towards the innkeeper and forcefully pushed him to the ground, then smirked when the man didn¡¯t dare stand again. He just laid there, holding his hands over his head as if anticipating another blow. Pleased with the reaction he got, Greggory began to stumble toward the door, when one of the lanterns caught his attention. When Greggory saw it, he paused, then smiled. Grabbing the lantern, he ripped off the protective covering, then threw the now open flame to the floor. This time, when the innkeeper saw what had happened, he jumped forward, no longer worrying about offending him. But it was too late, and he had no intention of allowing the bastard to put out the fire. As soon as the innkeeper neared him, Greggory punched him, knocking the man unconscious. Smiling, Greggory stumbled out of the inn as the inferno flared up behind him.
Dante regained consciousness with a groan. He felt like there was a boulder resting on his body. What happened¡­ Seeing the scattered bodies of the wolves on the ground around him, the events of the previous night rushed back to him. He didn¡¯t remember anything after killing the last wolf and assumed that he had passed out from exhaustion. Dante looked down at himself. His shirt was completely sliced down the front with 3 jagged lines where the larger wolf raked its claws against his ribs. His trousers were also torn down by the ankle where one of the smaller wolves had surprised him. His entire body was coated with dry blood, thankfully not all of it was his. Curious, Dante forced his right hand up so that he could examine his combatant¡¯s glove, still dry. Steeling himself, Dante began to crawl toward the stream so that clean himself off, while doing his best to ignore the pain shooting through his body. He couldn¡¯t believe how stiff his he was from such a short fight. Even if he had almost died, it didn¡¯t warrant the level of exhaustion he was enduring. He assumed it was some adverse effect from his abuse of the Rebirth of the Revenant passive. It took him a full hour to make it to the small stream, only a few feet away from where he had woken up. Moving his limbs at all was a challenge, but dragging himself over the stony bank was a tribulation. He couldn¡¯t even use his Blink skill, as soon as he channeled the mana, a sharp pain would shoot through his body and break his concentration. After cleaning the blood off of himself, Dante examined the now visible wounds from the night before, and was pleasantly surprised by what he saw. The three claw marks that had raked his ribs were now smooth, silver scars. Both his ankle and arm were fully healed, and if he weren''t looking closely, he would have missed the small scars that had come from the wolves¡¯ teeth. The largest injury on his shoulder wasn¡¯t completely healed yet, but he was more than pleased with its progress. His shoulder was a mass of scabs, a marked improvement from when he could see the bone reflected in firelight the night before. Testing the shoulder, Dante found that he hadn¡¯t lost any mobility in it. Even the muscles in his shoulder seemed relatively fine. If he wasn¡¯t covered in scabs that could reopen his wound, or he hadn¡¯t been so incredibly stiff and sore, he could be considered to be in peak fighting condition. After cleaning himself off, Dante began to crawl through the stone banks of the stream, looking for scattered dry driftwood. It took him several hours, but he felt that it was completely worth it as he rested his tired body in the comfort of a roaring fire. The only time he had gotten up after that was when he went to relieve himself, and get food. He didn¡¯t have the energy, or desire, to go hunt some creature in the woods or find plants that may be edible; fortunately, he didn¡¯t need to. He just made his way over to the horse sized wolf and gouged out large chunks of meat from its corpse.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. He had chosen that wolf specifically, he knew that you could attain world essence from eating the meat of rare or powerful creatures, and was unwilling to pass up the opportunity to receive more world essence. After cooking the chunks over the fire, and eating until he was full, Dante pulled up his Classification tab. Total level: 5 World Essence waiting to be assigned: 185 Chronomancer lvl 1/10 (0/100 world essence) Blademancer lvl 1/10 (0/100 world essence) Blader lvl 1/10 (0/100 world essence) Revenant lvl 2/10 (0/200 world essence) Recent World Essence gain: 88 World Essence for killing: Dire Wolf 67 World Essence for killing: Wolf x 8 3 World Essence for eating: Dire Wolf Meat The amount of world essence he had gained from killing the smaller wolves was interesting. He had assumed that killing any creatures of the same type would give him identical world essence, at least as long as they were from the same region. That didn¡¯t seem to be the case though. After looking it over, and doing the simple math in his head, it seemed that the wolves had given him between eight and nine world essence a piece. The second thing that drew his attention was that the other creature he killed, the horse wolf, was actually another species of wolf altogether. That didn¡¯t really surprise him, but the amount of world essence it had given him did. It seemed like entirely too much, even more than Isaac and Roderick, which was strange. To the best of his knowledge, killing humans with Classification¡¯s, especially uncommon ones like Isaac¡¯s ranger Classification, should have yielded far more world essence than a single creature. The smaller wolves giving him around eight world essence a piece was enough to prove that point. The last thing Dante examined, and the thing that made him happiest by far, was the amount of world essence that the dire wolfs meat had given him. That was a ridiculous amount of world essence for just eating a meal. Dante couldn¡¯t help but glance back at the dire wolf¡¯s body, already making plans to overeat in the coming days. Dante closed his Status and allowed himself to fall asleep, he could always assign his world essence later. It was several days before his stiff and sore body was fully recovered, and he had been eating the dire wolf at every opportunity, bringing him to a total of 206 world essence. It was unfortunate that the meat¡¯s effectiveness had slowly decreased as time passed. It had gone from three world essence per meal, to two, then one, and now, he got absolutely no benefit from consuming the meat. Well almost no benefit, his excessive eating had put a little bit of weight on his gaunt frame. It was a natural process, creature¡¯s meat lost its effectiveness as the world essence left its body after death, one of the reasons that they needed to be consumed almost immediately. After a few days of consideration, he decided to level his Chronomancer and Blademancer Classifications. The increased Intelligence and Wisdom would have made his fight with the wolves far easier. Opening up his Classifications tab, Dante fed world essence into the two Classifications until they leveled. That done, he examined the new text that appeared. Chronomancer has reached level 2 Attributes have been added: +1 Intelligence +1 Wisdom Skill description for Blink has been updated Blademancer has reached level 2 Attributes have been added: +1 Dexterity +1 Wisdom Skill description for Create Blade has been updated World Essence waiting to be assigned: 6 Chronomancer lvl 2/10 (0/200 world essence) Blademancer lvl 2/10 (0/200 world essence) Blader lvl 1/10 (0/100 world essence) Revenant lvl 2/10 (0/200 world essence) Satisfied with the text on the panel in front of him, he then opened the Skills tab to look at the changes there. Blink: Manipulate the power of space to teleport yourself or an object a short distance away. Cost: 30 Mana Range: up to 11 Feet Create Blade: Create a permanent bladed weapon of choice with an average quality. Cost: up to 55 Mana He was more than happy with the skills upgrades. There was no downside to Blinks, and although the cost of Create Blade increased, from his previous testing he could assume that the weapon created would now be superior. Dante closed out of the Skills tab and checked his Attributes tab. Name: Dante HP: 112/120 Mana: 160/160 (+1.6/sec) Strength: 10 Constitution: 12 Dexterity: 14 (+1.4) Agility: 10 (+1) Intelligence: 16 Wisdom: 16 Charisma: 4 Other than his HP, which was still slightly down from his injured shoulder, he was quite pleased with his attributes. It was also nice to easily see the ten percent bonus from his Blade Dancer passive next to his Dexterity and Agility attributes. After checking his attributes, Dante closed the panel in front of him and began testing the Create Blade skill. He did so by creating two of his favorite larger daggers, one with 50 mana and one with 55 Mana. Physically there was no difference, but when he began testing the two weapons on different objects around him, he noticed the one he created with 55 Mana cut slightly easier than the one that only cost him 50. Testing finished, Dante headed out to find something to kill in order to fully repair his still injured shoulder. He had been resting for several days, waiting for his fatigue to pass, and was eager to finally be moving again. While searching through the forest, he managed to kill a few small creatures. A rabbit, a squirrel, and a relatively large mouse, but none of them triggered his Rebirth of the Revenant passive. It made a decent amount of sense that his passive wasn¡¯t triggered, after all, he hadn¡¯t gotten any world essence from them either, but he couldn¡¯t help but be disappointed. It definitely limited his skills usability, even if only slightly. After that, he felt bad for the tiny creatures and began looking for larger prey. Dante traversed the forest for a few hours before he came upon a large cat that was feeding on the carcass of a deer. He didn¡¯t hesitate, taking it by surprise, he ran until he was within range. Then, as he Blinked next to it, he plunged his daggers into its jugular. His Rebirth of the Revenant skill was finally activated, and he watched it as it healed his shoulder. He had been too busy to watch it during the fight with the wolves. The process was interesting, it worked from on outside of the wound the slowly moved inward. Finally finishing as the scab flaked off, revealing a silvery scar underneath. The process only lasted around two minutes before it fully stopped. What in the hell. Dante slumped to the ground, it felt as though someone had just dumped a bag of rocks on him. He had assumed that it was the after-effects of his passive had caused him to be sore and stiff for days, but thought it was just from overuse. If he felt like this from one use of the passive, it was no wonder he had passed out after the fight. Still slumped on the ground, and lacking the energy to get up and move, he decided to open his Skills tab and look into his passive. No matter how much he examined or focused on the Rebirth of the Revenant skill, he got no new information on it. He did discover that he could toggle the passive on or off, and even change the percent that he would be healed for each kill. Dante frowned at the new discovery. The Rebirth of the Revenant passive would need to be tested extensively. If he hadn¡¯t finished the wolves so quickly, he would certainly be dead. He briefly wondered if the Blade Dancer passive had similar negative side effects, but thought it unlikely. Unlike the Rebirth of the Revenant passive ability, which had to be triggered in order to be activated, the Blade Dancer ability was always activated. And thus far, he hadn¡¯t noticed any side effects, but would now be warier of his skills. Dante attempted to stand up and make his way back to the bank, but getting to his feet was a challenge in and of itself, so walking for hours to get back to the bank wasn¡¯t going to happen. He decided that it would be best to just stay near the dead cat and rest until he regained his mobility. Chapter 6 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 6 Edwin Tibbott ¡°I¡¯m s-s-so s-sorry.¡± Edwin brought his hand down, and a clear slap reverberated through the chamber. Greggory¡¯s rotund form flew through the air, landing with a thud as he sprawled on the ground. Edwin stood over Greggory¡¯s huddling form, face crimson and panting in rage. He couldn¡¯t believe his own offspring, the fat useless slob in front of him, could be so utterly stupid. He had just begun to change his opinion of the boy. After Greggory had received two Classifications, he had even thought that the boy was finally shaping up to be a respectable man, and a worthy inheritor of the house name. He had even given Greggory a treasure that he had brought with him from the Outer region, and the fool actuallygaveit away. That was enough to make him mad, but not furious. After all, the stone could be brought back. No, the reason he was furious was because hisfuckingmoron of a son started a fire that burned down half of the city. Edwin picked Greggory up by the scruff of his neck, easily holding him with one hand. ¡°Do you think I wouldn¡¯t have you killed just because you¡¯re my son?¡± He roared directly in Greggory¡¯s face. ¡°I have plenty of time to havedozensof children, youFUCKING IMBECILE!¡± He threw the fat piece of shit to the other end of the chamber, causing him to collide with the stone wall. Edwin turned to address his guards. ¡°Have him flogged out in the square and see if that gives them pause. We need to stop the rioting before we lose the other half the city.¡± Edwin massaged his forehead as the guards carried his sniveling son out of the room. The number of casualties were almost uncountable, they must have lost at least a thousand. That would have been bad enough, but things had gotten much worse. Since the fire spread to the merchant¡¯s district, the trading guilds had organized a rebellion in retaliation for his son¡¯s moronic behavior. He could, of course, effortlessly go and put the riot down with his strength alone. But that would only cause larger problems in the future. If he began to rule Alazel with an iron fist, the church would take the opportunity to claim the moral high ground and abdicate him. Damn it. Edwin slammed a fist against the wall, then shouted to the guards in the hallway. ¡°Get Joseph in here.¡± It only took the guards a few minutes to collect Joseph and bring him to his chamber. Joseph, walking into his chamber and seeing the anger on his face, instantly stood with rapt attention. ¡°How can I serve you, my lord?¡± When Edwin saw Joseph, he showed a rare smile. Joseph was one of the few retainers that he took pride in having in his service. Joseph had the exceedingly rare Tracker Classification. Within the Outer Edge region, he had never heard of another person with the Classification that wasn¡¯t in the service of one of the major houses. Even though the Tracker Classification had no actual combat capabilities, Joseph could pick up the trail of anyone by their scent alone, and then track them within a certain mileage. Joseph was only level 5 in the Classification, so his range was rather limited, but he had found Joseph¡¯s services to be beyond valuable in his years residing the Outer Edge region. ¡°My son gave an exceedingly valuable item to Isaac and Roderick from the guard several days ago and they haven¡¯t returned. I need you to track them down and retrieve it. Whether they are alive or not when you are finished is of no concern, just get the enchanted stone from them, whatever the cost.¡± Thinking for a moment as he paced, Edwin continued. ¡°Take Herman with you, he can deal with any problems, should you run into them. Their belongings should still be in the barracks, you can track them from the scent on them.¡± ¡°Of course, my lord. I¡¯ll take my leave.¡± It was clear to see that Joseph was eager to escape him in his anger. Something that didn¡¯t bother him in the slightest so long as Joseph actually did his job. Edwin waved his hand, dismissing the Tracker. After Joseph left, Edwin stood in his chambers cursing inwardly. If it weren¡¯t for the memory of his murdered wife, and his desire to not destroy her legacy, he thought he really would have killed his son.
Dante awoke with a dagger to his throat. ¡°Hello laddie, terribly sorry to disturb your slumber.¡± Dante¡¯s eyes snapped open. A middle-aged man with long ginger hair swept back into a ponytail, and a lazy smile on his face was straddling his chest while holding a knife to his throat. Dante looked down to check his combatant¡¯s glove, and was relieved to see the man hadn¡¯t taken it off, it likely meant that his Classifications were still hidden. Just as he was going to Blink out of the hold and surprise the man, a second middle-aged man with a serious, yet tired face and stark black hair, a rarity in the Outer Edge region, came up from behind the person who was straddling him and cuffed him lightly on the head. ¡°Alright Edward you¡¯ve had your fun, get off the boy before he pisses himself.¡± Edward got off of him, still with a lazy smile on his face and turned to the other man. ¡°Come on Sam, there¡¯s no need to be so serious, the lad knew I was just joking around.¡± The other man, Sam, just rubbed his eyes and let out a tired sigh. ¡°We don¡¯t have time for this.¡± He said the words meaningfully, but got no reaction from Edward. Letting out a sigh, Sam continued. ¡°If we don¡¯t report back to the main group by tonight they will send someone after us.¡± ¡°But look at his hair and eyes, they are so exotic.¡± Edward¡¯s face was mere inches away from Dante¡¯s as he examined his eyes. ¡°Can we keep him?¡± His emotions were a little bit chaotic as he followed the conversation the two men were having. At first, he was completely relieved that he wasn¡¯t about to be butchered, but then, he was confused at the lack of hostility the two men showed him from his appearance. Those feelings only lasted until Edward¡¯s last comment though. After that, he felt somewhat indignant. Dante opened his mouth. About to interject into the conversation, when Sam cut him off. ¡°We can¡¯t take a boy into the dungeon with us.¡± Those words gave him pause. Dungeons were one of the most sought-after locations in all of Aleria. They were created similarly to the way the Statues of the Goddess were, but were fundamentally different. Statues of the Goddess were created to utilize world essence where it was densest in any given region in order to provide anyone located near them with certain benefits, such as the ability to receive the Status. Dungeons used the same concept but were the complete opposite. They too were in locations where the world essence is far denser than usual. The difference between the two is that instead of being discovered by humans and having a Statue of the Goddess built over the area to tap into it, a creature finds the area and taps into the world essence, infusing itself with it. The creature would then sink into the ground, causing vast caverns to form from the infusion of energy, and create the dungeon.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. He was thoroughly surprised by the news that there was a dungeon nearby. If there truly was a dungeon, he shouldn¡¯t just be finding out about it. Adventurers from across the Outer Edge region would have been flocking to the area, and Alazel would have been a prime location for them to reside in between explorations. After a split second of hesitation, Dante cleared his throat. ¡°Would it be possible for me to join your group?¡± Talking to the two of them made him quite nervous, and he acted as politely as he possibly could. Others usually didn¡¯t take kindly to his appearance, and although Edward and Sam didn¡¯t seem to mind it too much, he didn¡¯t want to anger them in any way. Edward surprised him with a hearty laugh and turned to Sam. ¡°You see? I knew he would want to join me. How could he resist my overwhelming Charisma? You¡¯re lucky I am here. Without me, we would have missed an opportunity to recruit such an interesting fellow.¡± Edward was clearly somewhat eccentric, and he wasn¡¯t sure how he really felt about it the man¡¯s personality. But for now, it seemed to be working in his favor, so he didn¡¯t question it. ¡°For the love of the Goddess.¡± Sam glanced at Dante¡¯s young face and right hand where his combatants glove was, then let out another large sigh, he actually had the grace to look somewhat embarrassed as he addressed Dante. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for my friend¡¯s behavior. Although our group istechnicallyopen to recruiting more combat Classifications for our dungeon exploration, it is impossible for you to join us. You look like you only just received your Status, without leveling your Classification a few times, it would be impossible for you to join us.¡± Sam shot an accusing glance back to Edward, showing that he was clearly against the entire idea. Dante blinked in surprise, Sam had taken him off-guard with how polite he was acting. ¡°Actually, I have already leveled my Classification a few times.¡± It was something of a lie, he had only leveled three of his Classifications to level two, but that gave him enough attributes to equal someone who was roughly around level seven with a single Classification. Sam looked doubtful, and was about to open his mouth to speak when Edward cut in with a laugh. ¡°Excellent, I expected nothing less from our new, exotic-looking friend.¡± Sam visibly hesitated for a moment, but then let out another sigh. ¡°Fine, but if he dies, it¡¯s on you.¡± He actually felt a bit bad for the Sam, he felt that Sam sighed far too often, and assumed him working with Edward wasn¡¯t a new arrangement. Still, the way he was speaking was strange, it was almost as though there was a hidden meaning in every other thing Sam said. ¡°Come on then. If we don¡¯t hurry, we won¡¯t make it by nightfall.¡± Sam turned and started walking into the forest. Dante, looking up and noting that it was still early morning, followed after him. Apparently, their camp was quite a distance away.
To anyone else, the long journey through the forest that took the entire day would have been uneventful and boring, but to him, it had been anything but. The entire morning was taken up by Edward babbling question after question at him about where he came from and why he looked the way he did. For the first time in his life, he didn¡¯t mind much, he just diverted Edward¡¯s questions. Not only that, but he also asked Edward about his past and where he came from and was diverted in turn. Overall, it had probably been the best conversation that he had ever had in his life. Sam walked in front of the two, completely apart from any conversation that they were having. Feeling bad for Sam, Dante broke off from Edward¡¯s conversation after their afternoon meal and began to converse with him instead. Unlike Edward, who seemed to enjoy conversing about things with little relevance, Sam was a wealth of information. They talked about numerous subjects briefly, most of them having to do with fighting. But eventually, they got into the topic of dungeons. He realized quite quickly that the knowledge he had picked up from the conversations that he had overheard was barely scratching the surface of what dungeons really were. Sam noticed it as well, and after his initial questions, Sam released another deep sigh. ¡°Exactly what do you know about dungeons?¡± Sam had said it with a hint of exasperation, making his disbelief that anyone could know so little clear. After Dante explained the little he knew about how dungeons, like how were created or formed and how they were almost like the opposite of the Statues of the Goddess. Sam, with another long sigh began to rub the bridge of his nose. ¡°So, you know nothing about them¡­ and yet you still agreed to come with us¡­¡± Sam let out another deep breath, and he found that he didn¡¯t like being the target of Sam¡¯s constant sighing. He even briefly wondered if Edward had always been so quirky, or if Sam¡¯s sighing had frustrated him into insanity. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll give you a brief overview of dungeons, I suggest you pay attention unless you want to get yourself killed.¡± ¡°First, the strength of the dungeon depends on two factors. The most important is the level of world essence density in the given area. Even if two locations in the Outer Edge region had dungeons, the density wouldn¡¯t necessarily be the same. The larger the density, and therefore the larger the infusion of world essence with the monster, the more dangerous the dungeon that is formed. The other thing that the dungeon¡¯s strength depends on is the overall strength, or even rarity, of the creature that stumbled on the area and infused itself with the world essence.¡± ¡°The creature itself usually won''t make too big of a difference in the dungeon quality, because it is so unlikely that one will randomly stumble upon a dense area. I¡¯ve heard that in the inner regions, people have actually found locations with high world essence density and brought rare creatures that they had captured to them in order to create especially powerful dungeons.¡± ¡°After the creature has infused with the world essence and creates the dungeon, it will have a Classification change, not only increasing its strength and abilities, but also making it a monster. Monsters can be killed, but only temporarily. After a monster dies, the world essence in the area begins to collect together. After enough of it is collected, the monster will come back with its full strength.¡± ¡°Another important thing about dungeons, is that the original creature that had been turned into a monster can also lure other creatures in, and turn them into monsters as well. Unlike the creature that discovered the dense area, the new monster¡¯s overall abilities or skills won¡¯t be altered, their numbers will also be limited by the amount of world essence in the dense area.¡± ¡°Finally, the reason dungeons are so sought after in Aleria, the monster drops. All of the monsters in the dungeon drop essence crystals, which is the world essence that condensed to form the monster. They have a multitude of uses and are very valuable. If you make yourself useful to the dungeon party, you may get a few. The two biggest uses for them are to either give world essence to anyone with a Status, or power up powerful enchantments that can¡¯t replenish themselves. Of course, here in the Outer edge region where there aren¡¯t any powerful enchanters, they are really only useful for giving world essence. It is a good thing they do too, monsters don¡¯t give you their world essence for killing them like other creatures do.¡± ¡°The last type of drop is from the original creature that created the dungeon. That monster, which is far more powerful than any of the others, is called the dungeon boss. The dungeon boss drops a different type of crystal from essence crystals called a monster crystal. The monster crystal is created from the dense world essence that infused into the creature that created the dungeon, and therefore far more powerful than the other crystals.¡± ¡°When killing a dungeon boss, the monster crystal will be broken up into shards equal to the number of people who helped to kill it. When in shard form, they are just more effective than essence crystals. But when someone kills the dungeon boss by themselves, an entire boss crystal will drop. It automatically will imprint itself on the person who killed the dungeon boss, becoming completely useless for anyone else¡­ unless someone kills that person. The full crystal will give a skill, attributes, or even unique passive skills from the monster that it came from.¡± He was shocked at the new information. He would have never thought that killing a dungeon boss could actually give him new skills. Skills were already severely limited by the number of Classifications someone had, and even the type of Classification, so getting new skills was invaluable. ¡°A unique passive skill?¡± Sam nodded. ¡°Yes, passive skills are exceedingly rare skills that generally only appear in certain Classifications. There¡¯s a large downside though. All the monster crystal passive skills have a mana per second cost. Top combatants who are able to acquire a full set of five monster crystals have to use two Wisdom attribute crystals to keep up with the mana consumption¡­ unless of course, they are magic Classifications that already have high wisdom.¡± ¡°What do you mean by a full set of five monster crystals?¡± ¡°You can only infuse up to five monster crystals into yourself at a time, one normal skill, two passive skills, and two attribute crystals that increase attributes.¡± That was a lot to digest. His mind was reeling, and he was more than thankful for the explanation, there was no way he could have learned such detailed information from listening in on conversations in Alazel. There would be plenty of time to think about it later though. For now, he needed to make sure the dungeon party took him with them. Slightly worried Dante entered the adventurers¡¯ camp with Sam and Edward. Chapter 7 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 7 Joseph Tabernick He was fucked. After leaving Alazel with both Roderick and Isaac¡¯s scent, he had picked up a trail easily. Quite pleased with himself, he and Herman had set off on the trail, eager to finish the task that their lord had given them. They had found Roderick first, his body flattened from a fall off the cliff next to his body. Unfortunately, Roderick had no enchanted stone on his person. Initially, he didn¡¯t think much of it. Thinking that Isaac might have pushed him off of it so he could keep the stone for himself. It was even possible that he just fell off the cliff himself, after all, Roderick wasn¡¯t the sharpest tool in the shed. So, not thinking much of it they set off to find Isaac. And here he was, absolutely fucked. Joseph looked down at Isaac¡¯s body, then up at Herman. Even though Herman¡¯s features were hidden by his full beard, he could actually see sympathy on his face. He saw sympathy onHerman¡¯sface. Lord Tibbott¡¯s most ruthless combatant was actually showinghimsympathy. It was the first emotion he had ever even seen from him. ¡°Can you at least track his clothing?¡± Joseph shook his head. ¡°I might have been able to if his clothing was closer, but my range is far too limited if I¡¯m not tracking people. Clothes just don¡¯t continuously give off a scent like people do...¡± Joseph looked down at the body and shuddered. ¡°Was he killed by a vampire?¡± Herman just grunted and knelt down to inspect the body, after looking it over for a moment, Joseph got his answer. ¡°Not a vampire, the throat was cut first, and the blood was taken from his corpse after he died.¡± Joseph cursed, he could feel cold sweat forming on his back. How is that better than a fucking vampire? ¡°We had best be getting back, his Lordship will be eager for news of his stone.¡± With that, Herman turned and began walking back to Alazel. Joseph hesitated for a moment. Not sure how he would be treated with his first failure, and on such an important job as well. But after that moment¡¯s hesitation, Joseph gave a defeated sigh and followed Herman back to Alazel.
He wasn¡¯t sure what he expected when he walked into the adventurer¡¯s camp, but this wasn¡¯t it. The camp had a dozen or so different people in it, but all of them were spread out with their own tents and their own fires. No one even spoke to each other. In fact, they all seemed to hold their own separate territory where others were unwelcome. He found the entire thing to be strange. Still, it wasn¡¯t necessarily a bad thing. He had no intention of getting to know any of them better. If Sam and Edward hadn¡¯t told him it was a dungeon party, he would have mistaken the entire group for a brigand of bandits. Upon walking into the camp with Edward and Sam, Edward took him to greet a gruff man in his early twenties who had the largest tent. The man had long blond locks that fell around a cheerful face, standing with what seemed like perfect posture, and a spear at his side. He couldn¡¯t help but feel that the man had the bearing of a leader. Of course, as soon as they saw the man, Edward, still with lazy smile on his face, started the conversation. ¡°Ah, here we are.¡± Turning back to address Dante, Edward continued. ¡°This fool¡¯s name is Lance. He¡¯s the person who started this little party.¡± Edward gestured to the dozen or so people around them. ¡°Care to guess why his name is Lance?¡± He finished the last question with a delighted laugh that was almost a giggle. He was confused by Edward¡¯s question, but after looking over at Lance, and seeing his crimson face, he became slightly interested. ¡°He calls himself Lance because he has the Lancer Classification!¡± Edward burst out laughing. ¡°How absurd is that?¡± Dante frowned. He didn¡¯t think that Lance changing his name to match his Classification was funny, he thought it was one of the stupidest things he had ever heard. As far as he knew, Combat Classifications went out of their way to wear combatant¡¯s gloves for a reason. It didn¡¯t matter how rare the Lancer Classification was, telling someone else your Classification could easily cost you your life. That wasn¡¯t the reason he had frowned though, the reason he was frowning was because this moron was the leader of the party he was joining to go into the dungeon. Edward noticed his frown but only smiled wider. ¡°Anyways Lance, the lad here will be joining our little party into the dungeon. I know what you¡¯re thinking, but don¡¯t worry, he just looks a bit young.¡± Edward winked at Dante, as if the lie hadn¡¯t been obvious enough before. Lance¡¯s face was still red, but he seemed to be used to Edwards antics. After glancing over at Dante, he looked doubtful but didn¡¯t seem too troubled. ¡°That¡¯s fine, we need someone to lug around the drops anyway. What¡¯s your Classification kid?¡± As far as he knew, asking for a random person¡¯s Classification was one of the largest affronts that someone could commit. He wasn¡¯t too upset though, Lance clearly didn¡¯t think keeping a Classification hidden was important, but his opinion of Lance was steadily falling as the conversation progressed. After mulling it over for a moment, Dante responded. ¡°I¡¯m a Ranger Classification.¡± Using the Ranger Classification for cover was the best that he could come up with on short notice, the Classification was somewhat uncommon, but not that rare. He would have posed as a Warrior, the most common combat Classification, but if he was going to be dragging around the loot from the monsters they killed, his lack of strength would give him away. On the other hand, his decently high Agility and Dexterity attributes combined with his Blade Dancer passive would allow him to easily use the Ranger Classification for cover. Lance looked him over doubtfully. ¡°Really, where is your bow?¡± He held back his curse, the fact that a Ranger Classification would generally have some sort of ranged weapon had been a massive oversight on his part. He hadn¡¯t even really thought about weapons since he got his Create Blade skill, any time he needed one he could just create it. ¡°Well whatever, you won¡¯t need a bow to collect the loot.¡± Lance was clearly an idiot. Dante just stared at him blankly, not understanding how he could have survived to be in his early twenties. ¡°Well, we need to get the lad settled in for the night. Y¡¯know, early morning tomorrow and all that.¡± Edward winked at Lance, threw his arm around Dante¡¯s shoulder, then led him to the tent where he was staying. ¡°I see that you¡¯re traveling a little light, why not bunk with me?¡± Dante didn¡¯t hesitate to follow, he had no interest in staying with the more rugged members of his new party. When they arrived at the tent, Edward distributed road rations and laid out a blanket for him to sleep on, something that he was more than grateful for. Sitting by their campfire, Edward looked at him with his lazy smile. ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking. How could such a brilliant, charismatic, and moral man such as Lance lead this band of misfits and degenerates?¡± He waved his arm indicating the rugged men and women around him. Dante winced. ¡°Lance was a bit¡­¡± ¡°Yes, yes.¡± Edward motioned him to be quiet. ¡°Lanceisa bit too amazing, it¡¯s hard to express his excellency with words.¡± His voice was dripping with sarcasm. ¡°However.¡± Dante was thoroughly surprised by the sudden change in Edwards expression, even the lazy smile disappeared for the first time since he had met Edward. ¡°I would suggest you don¡¯t underestimate the imbecile, not everyone relies on a combatant¡¯s glove to hide their true strength.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Hearing Edwards words he reflected, on the earlier conversation he had with Lance. Lance¡¯s idiocy couldn¡¯t have all been an act, or could it? If he had been trying to disarm him, it had definitely worked. There was no way he would have perceived Lance to be a potential threat without Edwards warning. He realized his error. All of these people were combat Classifications that had survived years of adventuring and crawling through dungeons, how could any of them just be simple idiots? Seeing the change in expression on Dante¡¯s face, Edward¡¯s lazy smile returned to his face. ¡°Of course, some people are exactly who you think they are.¡± Edward gave Dante another wink. ¡°Alright, time to hit the sack, we have quite the long walk tomorrow.¡±
He was completely miserable. After Edward made it quite clear that they would have a long walk the following morning, and he had decided it would be for the best to listen to him and go to sleep, he laid down to rest on the blanket that Edward left out for him. Shortly after, Edward thought it was for the best to place his makeshift sleeping bag down next to him and talk about meaningless things forliterallythe entire night. He hadn¡¯t slept at all. Then, after everyone woke up, he found out that Sam and Edward had been scouting out the dungeon the previous morning when they had stumbled upon him. So, after trekking through the woods the entire day before, he was now walking back to where he started, but this time exhausted from the lack of sleep. So, he had spent the entire day half asleep, and stumbling through the forest while Edwardcontinuedto speak nonsense for the entirety of the journey. He couldn¡¯t fathom where Edward found the energy. He had started talking about different species of mice and what they ate the night before. Then, during the entire trek through the forest the following day, he began to discuss what manner of creatures atethem. He had actually found the latter conversation to be somewhat interesting. After all, Edward was describing several creatures that he had never heard of before, but due to the lack of sleep, he couldn¡¯t find any interest in Edwards conversation and just wished the man would stop. They didn¡¯t even talk to Sam once. Sam was visibly happy to let someone else be Edward¡¯s victim. Never had he thought that he would miss the isolation that the priests in Alazel had provided him. After a particularly rousing conversation on trolls with Edward, the group, which neared the dungeon, finally stopped to make camp. He didn¡¯t wait for a tent, fire, or even blankets. As soon as the party got to the designated clearing to make camp, he collapsed to the floor and fell asleep.
The next morning, Dante awoke to a kick to his side and Edward¡¯s cheerful smile inches from his face as he inspected his red eyes closely. ¡°Rise and shine. I know you need your beauty rest, but if you don¡¯t get up, we are going to leave without you.¡± He was about to curse Edward for waking him up, but after looking around and seeing everyone else in their small party up and ready to go, he realized he had overslept. Dante quickly got up and joined them, his lack of belongings allowed him to be immediately ready. A short walk later and they came upon a small ravine. Lance stood in front of the group preparing to debrief everyone on their roles and what position they should take. He found himself interested since this was his first dungeon. ¡°All right, fall in.¡± Lance looked the party over, checking to make sure they were paying attention. ¡°Close combat fighters up front, ranged fighters in the back. Edward will scout ahead and fall back during the fighting. Any questions?¡± Dante looked at lance, eye twitching. That was it? Everything he said was obvious. He then looked over the other eleven members of the party, all they did was give a nod at Lance¡¯s instructions. Lance noted Dante¡¯s stupefied expression. ¡°Oh, right. Boy, you will also stay behind during the fighting and collect the loot afterward.¡± I don¡¯t care what Edward said, there is no way that he is only acting stupid. ¡°Alright, enough standing around. We¡¯ll divide the crystals up at the end.¡± Lance threw an empty sack to Dante, presumably what he was supposed to collect the essence crystals with. They made their way down the ravine, and he no longer wondered why the dungeon hadn¡¯t been discovered until recently. Not only was the ravine deep, but the only way down was a jagged and treacherous path. No, he didn¡¯t wonder why it hadn¡¯t been discovered, he wondered how ithadbeen discovered. Travelling deeper, he found that there wasn¡¯t really a bottom to the ravine, the crevice in the earth just slowly got smaller until it the space was too constricting to go deeper. Just before the ravine seemed like it would be too narrow to travel further, the group came upon a tunnel on the side of the path. Everyone immediately entered it without hesitation, but he had a few misgivings about trusting a narrow cave so deep into the earth. Dante inspected the tunnel thoroughly, checking its safety. The tunnel would be able to roughly support ten men walking side by side from its width, and was about twice his height. The walls that it was made of seemed to be formed out of compact stone and looked pretty sturdy, so he wasn¡¯t too worried about cave-ins. After looking it over, Dante chased after the others who were already a way¡¯s ahead. Travelling deeper, it didn¡¯t take long before they came upon a large cavern. One of the mages created a ball of light, then pushed it forward to light up the cave. The cavern was massive, about the size of the town square in Alazel, and around two stories high at its peak. In the middle of the room was several tiny, sickly green, looking human-shaped creatures with pointed ears and sharp fangs. One of the gruff men in front of him turned to Lance and cursed. ¡°We came all this way for a Goddess damned goblin dungeon?¡± Lance looked somewhat vexed. ¡°When I bought the information for this place, the information broker told me that he didn¡¯t know what type of monsters were in the dungeon¡­ no wonder he sold it so cheap.¡± He scratched the back of his head. ¡°Oh well, we are already here, and it¡¯s better than nothing.¡± Dante turned to Edward, who was still by his side. It appeared that scouting didn¡¯t entail much, since the caverns were so enormous and easily visible in the light that the mage had created. ¡°Why are goblin dungeons so bad?¡± Edward laughed. ¡°Goblins are stupid, slow, weak, and they reproduce quickly. In other words, the essence crystals they create are weak, and if there is even one goblin in the dungeon, there is most likelyonlygoblins in the dungeon.¡± At the very least, it seemed that Edward didn¡¯t lose any of his cheer at the knowledge that the dungeon was filled with goblins. ¡°I thought Sam said that creatures were lured into dungeons to create new monsters, can they simply reproduce instead?¡± ¡°Of course, dungeonscanlure in creatures to make new monsters, but as long as the dungeon isn¡¯t at capacity, the monsters can reproduce until its filled. If they didn¡¯t, it could take dozens of years for a dungeon to fill up.¡± That was interesting. The information made Sam¡¯s remark of people creating dungeons in the inner regions far more feasible. If they had to trap each individual monster and fill the dungeons manually, which would be far larger in the inner region due to the world essence density, it would be an incredible feat. Bringing in a variety of rare and powerful creatures to let them reproduce and fill the dungeon automatically would be far simpler. Acquiring the new knowledge was a somewhat euphoric feeling. He had never had an opportunity to just ask questions and get a direct answer in the past, and found the experience to be more than delightful. His nonchalance at the situation, and Edward¡¯s casual laugh during his explanation, awarded them glares from the rest of the party members. Dante winced. Even though everyone in the party had treated him as if he didn¡¯t exist thus far, aside from Edward and Sam, he had rather enjoyed their acceptance of him as a member of the party and didn¡¯t want to anger them. Lance grabbed the attention of the group, taking back control and quieting the angry mutters. ¡°Alright, listen up. It¡¯s just a goblin dungeon, so we will break up into three groups and take turns in the caverns, there is no point in all of us wasting our time.¡± After drawing lots and breaking into groups, the unlucky group to be chosen first walked into the cavern and utterly demolished the goblins inside. The combatants just walked through them, swinging weapons nonchalantly and effortlessly eradicating anything in their path. As the goblins died, their bodies disintegrated into dust and then quickly melted into the floor of the dungeon as they collapsed to the floor. The only thing that was left where their corpses should have been were tiny, clear stones that radiated light despite being in a dark cavern. He found the process of the goblins dying and being absorbed into the dungeon completely mesmerizing. Lance walked up and lightly cuffed Dante, then motioned for him to pick up the essence crystals that were dropping from the dead goblins. Needing no further prodding, Dante began walking around and scavenging the dozen-odd crystals from where the corpses disappeared. After finishing, he rejoined the party, which was waiting for him at the other end of the chamber. ¡°Over here boy.¡± Dante walked over to Lance, and Lance took one of the essence crystals out from the sack he was carrying it. He took a moment to thoroughly inspect the essence crystal, something that he hadn¡¯t been able to do while rushing to pick them up. The crystal was a tiny, jagged shard that was roughly the size of an acorn. After Lance took the crystal in his hand, he squeezed it. Crushing the crystal in his palm. ¡°Only five world essence.¡± All of the party members released a groan. Apparently, it was far lower than they had expected, but he actually thought that it was a pretty decent amount for how easy the fight was. Besides, they were still only in the first chamber and had gotten over a dozen. In comparison, the wolves only gave him around nine world essence, but they seemed far more powerful than these goblins. As they began to move through the corridor that led to the next cavern, Dante turned to Edward. ¡°How long until the goblins come back?¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Edward paused and looked around the cavern. ¡°Given the density of the world essence, I would say¡­ maybe a few months.¡± Dante blinked. ¡°That long?¡± His question elicited a laugh from Edward. ¡°Where do you think you are? This is the Outer Edge region, given the density here, the monsters will come back at the slowest speed possible.¡± That did make some sense, but now his plan of coming back and clearing the dungeon by himself was ruined. The group progressed through the caverns relatively unhindered. By the time they began to make their way to the last cavern, presumably where the dungeon boss would be, they had already cleared seventeen rooms in total. He was unsure of exactly how many essence crystals he had collected, but the large sack he had been given was almost full of the acorn-sized crystals, and he had to sling it over his shoulder to bear its weight. The mage lit up the cavern ahead of them, but it seemed empty aside from the large boulders that were scattered across the floor. Lance, who was ahead of the group and peering into the cavern addressed Edward. ¡°Go scout ahead, this is the last room, so the dungeon boss should be in there somewhere.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Edward, lazy smile on his face, walked nonchalantly towards the cavern. As he neared Lance, who was still facing forward and looking for the dungeon boss, Edward wrapped his left hand around Lance¡¯s head, yanked him off balance, then plunged a dagger into his back. Chapter 8 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 8 Edward ripped the dagger out of Lance¡¯s back, then reinserted it into his side to pierce his heart. ¡°Well, that felt damn good.¡± He threw Lance¡¯s corpse to the floor. Everyone looked at him in complete silence, not daring to make a move. Edward turned back to face them, the lazy smile still on his face as though nothing had happened. Two of the Warriors in the group were the first to react, shouting savagely before rushing him, and Edward¡¯s smile didn¡¯t disappear in the slightest as he stepped forward to meet them. The first Warrior ran directly toward him, and Edward sidestepped at the last second, then slammed his dagger into the Warrior¡¯s side as he passed. The other Warrior, who was trying to take advantage of Edward¡¯s now lack of dagger, came at him from the front. Dante looked on in horror as Edward reached up, grabbed the Warrior¡¯s neck, and tore it out with his bare hand. The rest of the party rushed forward to confront him, and everything after that seemed to happen all at once. Edward became death incarnate, moving far faster than he had before. Each strike he took put another corpse on the ground. Dante was watching the entire event unfold, mortified, when he felt a hand grab his shoulder. Without even thinking, he Blinked away, then looked to see who had grabbed him. It was Sam, who seemed thoroughly surprised that he had slipped out of his grip. Dante looked back to Edward, making sure that he wouldn¡¯t be caught unaware. Edward was now standing over a cluster of bodies, and somehow there wasn¡¯t a trace of blood on him. He, Sam, and Edward were the only party members still alive. Dante used his Create Blade skill, instantly bringing two long daggers into existence, then held them out in an effort to ward off the two should they choose to attack. Edward saw Dante teleport away from Sam¡¯s grip and create the two daggers and let out a laugh. ¡°I knew I didn¡¯t waste my time with you.¡± He looked around at the corpses around his feet and scratched his head. ¡°Uh, maybe I owe you an explanation¡­¡± Edward slipped a ring off of his finger, and his entire body shimmered momentarily. When the shimmering stopped, Edward was gone. In place of the middle-aged man was a young man who looked to be in his mid-twenties. The long ginger-hair that was swept back into a ponytail was now cropped pitch-black hair. His figure was fuller and covered in muscle that wasn¡¯t there previously, and even his facial features changed. What were once plain features gave way to high cheekbones, a proud brow, and bright blue eyes. The only thing that didn¡¯t change was his familiar lazy smile. The new man placed his hand over his chest and gave a slight, formal bow. ¡°Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Edward Ailloss, the current lord of House Ailloss.¡± He indicated towards Lance and the two men who had rushed towards him earlier. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to have startled you, but I had some cleaning up to do. Blood feuds and the like, I¡¯m sure you understand.¡± Edward was talking as though the entire thing was some big misunderstanding, but he was having a hard time coming to terms with everything that had happened in the last few minutes. After seeing Edward kill the others, he knew that he would die if Edward decided to attack. He wasn¡¯t even sure if he would be able to Blink away from him, he had never seen anyone move anywhere near that fast. Edward cleared his throat, seemingly a bit embarrassed by Dante¡¯s frightened expression. ¡°Perhaps I should explain a bit better. Lance¡¯s actual name is Ervin Shearrant, he¡¯s the scion of House Shearrant, a once powerful family in the Outer region. After a particularly brutal war with my house, House Shearrant was almost completely eradicated. A few of them snuck into my home during the fighting and killed my son. Which is why I brought my best guard, Sam, and came to the Outer Edge region to hunt him down.¡± He finished by indicating back to Lance, as if that was all the evidence needed. That made a little bit of sense to him, hunting down his son¡¯s killers could be something a lord would do themselves, but he wasn¡¯t buying it. ¡°Then why did you join his party and why haven¡¯t you killed me?¡± Sam¡¯s eyebrows shot up, as if questioning his sanity. I¡¯m an Idiot. A complete idiot. Why would I ask that? He could kill me on a whim. ¡°Ah, of course. My apologies for being unclear. When we had finally hunted Ervin down and were preparing to kill him, we discovered he was recruiting for a recently discovered, and unexplored, dungeon. Even though we come from the Outer region, a monster crystal from a rare or powerful monster from the Outer Edge region could be useful to Sam or me, so we joined the group.¡± Edward paused, and an uncomfortable expression covered his face. ¡°The day we found you, we had volunteered to go to the dungeon and scout out the location early for the rest of the party. After discovered it was just a simple goblin dungeon and were on our way back to kill Ervin. That was when we found you sleeping.¡± He averted his gaze, not looking Dante in the eye. ¡°To be fair¡­ youdolook a little strange, and seeing you sleeping, I was a tad bit curious, and may have¡­ peaked under your glove.¡± Edward glanced up to check his expression and gauge his reaction. His face was blank though, other than pondering how he could escape, the only thing he was thinking about was how hard he had screwed up by joining a random dungeon group. Edward pushed forward. ¡°Your Classifications were a shock to say the least. I haven¡¯t even seen any of the symbols aside from the Blader Classification symbol, and that is already an exceptionally rare and powerful Classification. Your earlier performance did give me some hints about them though.¡± Edward indicated the two long daggers in Dante¡¯s hands. ¡°Your sudden appearance destroyed all of my plans though. I thought that if I took you back with us and immediately slaughtered a group of people, it may scare you off¡­¡± Dante just continued to stare at Edward. Didn¡¯t want to scare him off? Was that a joke? Edward saw his expression and cleared his throat. ¡°You see, House Ailloss is in a bit of a situation right now and given your¡­ potential, I think you may be able to help. Every five years there is a competition between the largest houses in the Outer region. Each house chooses their most exceptional youth under the age of twenty to compete in a tournament style combat competition. Not only does the competition determine a house¡¯s standing in the Outer region, but the winner also gets total control of the best dungeon in the Outer region for a full five years.¡± A brief expression of sorrow crossed Edward¡¯s face, but it was quickly gone, and he was trying to assess whether or not the emotion was an act. ¡°Typically, a house will spend massive amounts of resources on their candidate for the competition. Unfortunately, for the competition in four years, House Ailloss¡¯ candidate for the competition was going to be my son.¡± Dante gaped, if Edward had a son that was going to compete in the competition in 4 years it meant that his son must have been at least fourteen before he died. Given Edward¡¯s appearance of being in his mid-twenties, the only reasonable explanation was that Edward had already specialized his Classification and therefore slowed his aging. Edward was even more terrifying than he thought. ¡°So, tell me if I¡¯m getting this right. You took me back to a camp full of people you were planning on murdering, kept me awake by talking all night, dragged me through a dungeon, and killed all of the people I thought were my party members in front of me, all in an effort to recruit me for a competition?¡± Sam burst out laughing. Edward glared at his guard, then cleared his throat. ¡°Reflecting on my earlier actions, perhaps I could have handled the situation better, but bringing you to the dungeon seemed like a good opportunity to accomplish two of my objectives at the same time.¡± He pointed to the bag of essence crystals that Dante had dropped on the floor during the fight. ¡°Not only have I supplied a gift as a sign of my goodwill, but I have also completed the task I originally came to the Outer Edge region for.¡± Seeing the misgivings on Dante¡¯s face, Edward stepped forward and handed him a combatant¡¯s glove with a lion sigil on it. ¡°You don¡¯t need to accept my offer now, take this to the city of Rork in the Outer region any time in the next three years if you want to compete, that should give us enough time to prepare you.¡± He gave Dante a mischievous smile. ¡°I¡¯m sure someone with your potential will eventually travel to inner Aleria. If you compete, I¡¯ll give you all the resources at my house¡¯s disposal to help prepare you for the Chaos region. Andifyou actually win the competition, I¡¯ll give you the first access to the strongest dungeon in the Outer region.¡± That gave him pause, if House Ailloss was really one of the largest houses in the Outer region, their resources would be a major help to him for when he traversed the Chaos region. Also, if he really did get first access to the strongest dungeon in the Outer region, the monster crystal he would get would be a massive boost to his overall abilities. There was no reason to trust Edward though. There were too many inconsistencies in his story, and that was just at a glance with almost no information on House Ailloss itself. How was it possible that such a large house would only have one person who was strong enough to compete in a competition? Regardless, if Edward was going to allow him to leave, alive, he was more than willing to agree. Three years should be plenty of time to disappear if he needed to. Either way, he would need to do his own research on House Ailloss before he made any decisions on the matter.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. After thinking it over, he gave a neutral answer. ¡°I will consider your offer. If I accept, I will travel to Rork in the next three years.¡± ¡°Excellent, truly excellent. We will be off then. Oh, by the way, I wouldn¡¯t stay in the dungeon too long. These mana manipulated lights will only last another hour or so.¡± Edward turned to walk back through the tunnel of the dungeon, but just before he was out of sight, he turned back to Dante. ¡°Almost forgot to mention, the dungeon boss is still in the next room. It¡¯s a goblin, so unless it drops an attribute monster crystal, it will be useless. But even if it is useless, you can always break it for the world essence.¡± He winked then turned to leave. After the two men left, Dante sat alone in the tunnel of the dungeon. The events that had just transpired seemed absolutely absurd, and there were too many things that weren¡¯t adding up. Taking a deep breath, Dante looked around at the bodies and the essence crystals. Even though his nerves were still on edge from the fright that Edward had given him, he couldn¡¯t help but be happy. The unexpected harvest that surrounded him was enormous. Not only did he have hundreds of essence crystals from the dungeon, but he also had plenty of bodies to use for experimentation on his glove. Dante walked over to the bodies, checking everyone¡¯s wrist for their Classifications. Lance, or Ervin, had the rarest by far with a Lancer Classificationanda Warrior Classification. Followed by the Mage Classification, of which there were two. There was also a Priest Classification, which surprised him. Usually, Priests used healing skills, but he had clearly seen the man out slaughtering goblins with a mace. The rest were Warrior and Ranger Classifications. He began on one of the Warrior¡¯s bodies. He wanted to test how much blood was needed to make a symbol appear on the glove, or even if another symbol would appear on the glove at all. First, he began by placing one of his fingers in a pool of blood. After it dried he inspected the glove, nothing happened. After that, he placed his hand inside of the pool, coating his entire palm with blood. Still nothing. After using the entire palm of the glove didn¡¯t work, he gave up on partially coating the glove. Dante stuck his entire hand inside of the Warrior¡¯s wound, completely covering his hand. After pulling it out, he watched the glove dry, and as it did, a scarlet glow of a small Warrior symbol slowly appeared on the glove as it dried. Thrilled, he set off to collect the symbols of the other¡¯s Classifications. After he got the symbols of the other Classifications, now having a total of five, he decided it would be a waste not to squeeze out as much blood as he could from the bodies. When he had absorbed some of Isaac¡¯s blood, the glove seemed to have changed slightly, but it was too subtle to be sure. So, he wanted to test the process out. He began to use a multitude of methods to get blood out of the bodies. He tried pressing down on them to force blood out of the wound, putting them upside down on the wall to drain them, and even cutting into them to draw more out. The entirety of the process made him sick. But thankfully after he threw up a few times he was only dry heaving. It took him around thirty minutes to drain and absorb as much blood as he could. After he had finished the glove had visibly changed. It was far less ancient looking now. It now looked more like something that had been handed down as a family heirloom. Still old and threadbare, but not threatening to fall apart. Dante glanced over at the desecrated bodies, they were covered in items that he may have found valuable, but stealing from the dead didn¡¯t sit right with him after desecrating their corpses so thoroughly. Experimentation done, Dante made his way over to the sack of essence crystals. Picking one up, he crushed it in his hand. After checking his Classification tab and making sure he got the world essence, he began crushing them in large handfuls. It took him a full ten minutes just to crush the handfuls of essence crystals. After he was done, Dante opened his Status and checked his Classification tab. World Essence waiting to be assigned: 1386 Chronomancer lvl 2/10 (0/200 world essence) Blademancer lvl 2/10 (0/200 world essence) Blader lvl 1/10 (0/100 world essence) Revenant lvl 2/10 (0/200 world essence) Recent World Essence gain: 1380 World essence from: Essence Crystal x 276 The amount of world essence he had gotten from the crystals was staggering. Adventuring through dungeons was clearly the best way to level up. When he thought back to how the party was actually dejected when they found out that this dungeon was filled with goblins, and that each kill only awarded five world essence, his anticipation for other dungeons only increased. He still had no idea what he wanted to level though. Blader was an easy choice, since it only cost him one hundred world essence. He decided to also level up the Chronomancer Class, not only would he get more total mana and mana regeneration, but he also wanted the extra blink distance from the skill level up. He fed the world essence into the two Classifications. Blader has reached level 2 Attributes have been added: +1 Dexterity +1 Agility Skill description for Blade Dancer has been updated Chronomancer has reached level 3 Attributes have been added: +1 Intelligence +1 Wisdom Seeing the new popup, Dante couldn¡¯t help but frown. He had been hoping that his skills would be upgraded every time he leveled, but since Blink didn¡¯t get update, that didn¡¯t seem to be the case. He dismissed the text he reexamined his Classification tab. World Essence waiting to be assigned: 1086 Chronomancer lvl 3/10 (0/300 world essence) Blademancer lvl 2/10 (0/200 world essence) Blader lvl 2/10 (0/200 world essence) Revenant lvl 2/10 (0/200 world essence) Even though his skills didn¡¯t get upgraded every level, there was some good news. When upgrading his Classifications from level 1 to level 2, the world essence he needed for the next level had doubled. He had been worried that it would continue to double every level, making it multiplicative. But after seeing that it was only adding one hundred world essence to the required amount per level, Dante heaved a sigh of relief. He was looking over his Classifications and thinking about which ones would be best to level, when he decided to check how his Blade Dancer skill had changed before making his decision. He switched to the Skills tab. Blade Dancer (Passive): Increase Dexterity by 11% Increase Agility by 11% Increase ability with bladed weapons (+1) He wasn¡¯t sure what +1 to his increased ability did, but the fact that the Blade Dancer Skill increased in all three of its passive boosts seemed a little too good to be true. He was glad he decided to check the skill before allocating his world essence. All of his skills got an upgrade when the Classification reached level 2, but Blink didn¡¯t get one when Chronomancer reached level 3. Therefore, he could assume that none of his skills were going to get an upgrade when they reached level 3. Since he was unsure if the skills would get an upgrade at level 4, he decided to assign the rest of his world essence as if they did. And based on his current world essence he could get any two of his Classifications to level 4, hopefully getting him two new skill upgrades. That line of thinking done, he began to think about which skills he needed to be upgraded, or which would be the most helpful. He was slightly skeptical of the Rebirth of the Revenant skill for the time, being and decided to hold off on it for now. One of his largest problems right now was close combat fighting. His Blade Dancer passive and his Create Blade skill would clearly help him in that regard. The benefits to Blade Dancer were obvious, but if he upgraded the Create Blade skill, he would be able to create sharper weapons that could cut through higher resiliency with less strength. Blink was always useful, but one foot of extra range wouldn¡¯t help him that much, so he decided to hold off on it. After carefully analyzing his choices he began to allocate his world essence, leveling both Classifications twice. Blader has reached level 4 Attributes have been added: +2 Dexterity +2 Agility Skill description for Blade Dancer has been updated Blademancerhas reached level 4 Attributes have been added: +2 Dexterity +2 Wisdom Skill description for Create Blade has been updated Thankfully, he had gotten a skill upgrade when his Classifications reached level 4. He opened his Skills menu to check and see if they upgraded similarly to the last time. Blade Dancer (Passive): Increase Dexterity by 12% Increase Agility by 12% Increase ability with bladed weapons (+2) Create Blade: Create a permanent bladed weapon of choice with an average quality. Cost: up to 60 Mana After he finished looking it over, he switched over to his Attributes tab. Name: Dante HP: 120/120 Mana: 170/170 (+1.9/sec) Strength: 10 Constitution: 12 Dexterity: 19 (+2.28) Agility: 13 (+1.56) Intelligence: 17 Wisdom: 19 Charisma: 4 Dante closed his Status. He created two daggers with Create Blade and tested the new improvements that leveling his Classifications had given him. As he swung the blades through the air with quick chops, he was surprised by his overall change. Not only was he far faster than he had been before, but his reflexes and accuracy were much sharper as well. He still wasn¡¯t sure what the increased ability passive did, but something about the cold steel in his hands just felt right¡­ Dante stopped swinging the blades. The mage light would be gone soon, and he still had yet to kill the dungeon boss. Leaving the dried-out corpses behind, Dante entered the last cavern.
Sam Everard On their way back to the Outer region, he had remained silent in contemplation during most of the journey. Edwards actions didn¡¯t make sense, it would have saved time to simply take the boy with them, regardless of if he actually wanted to. Eventually couldn¡¯t hold back his curiosity. ¡°Why did you want that boy to enter the competition for House Ailloss so badly? Diana is just as good of a fighter as Jackson was, if not better.¡± Edward Flinched at hearing his son¡¯s name being casually mentioned. ¡°You saw the boy¡¯s wrist, not only will we most likely win the tournament with him representing our house, but we will also create ties between him and House Ailloss. Besides, even if it was a bit forced, I doubt he can stay away from the potential rewards that we could give him.¡± ¡°Then why didn¡¯t we just bring him back with us? He would have come willingly with enough prodding.¡± Edward¡¯s face turned slightly red. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that Diana might be a bit too¡­ much, to attract Dante¡¯s attention.¡± He cleared his throat. ¡°But in three years¡¯ time, I¡¯m sure Helena can turn her into a proper lady.¡± ¡°So, it¡¯s like that?¡± Sam snorted. ¡°As if that boy is looking for a proper lady, everything he owned was in tatters.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what he is looking for, Diana will be it. I have allowed her to maintain her lifestyle because we have never been in need of a political marriage, but that boy, Dante, changes things. If we can attach ourselves to him, House Ailloss will rise to prominence once again.¡± Sam did his best to hold in his sigh, but he couldn¡¯t manage. If Edward was really going to force Diana into a marriage, House Ailloss¡¯ peaceful days were over. Chapter 9 Dante¡¯s Immortality - Chapter 9 Dante stepped into the last cavern. Edward had told him that the dungeon boss would be a goblin, and that any skill he got from it would basically be useless. But he reasoned that even if it was useless, it would only mean more world essence. The cavern itself seemed different than the others. Not only was it about three times larger, but there were also large rocks scattered across the floor that cast deep shadows in the mage light. There was no monster in sight so he assumed that it would be hiding in one of the shadows and walked in with his guard up.
After searching through the cavern for several minutes, he had all but given up on finding the dungeon boss. He had walked close to every shadow and had yet to see even the slightest hint of a monster, which left him dumbfounded. In the other caverns, as soon as a monster could see or hear you, it would immediately go all out and attack. He had entered the cavern and walked near the shadows counting on the dungeon boss being similar, but that didn¡¯t seem to be the case. Just as Dante dropped his guard, he could feel a tingling sensation coming from his right side. Before his brain could comprehend the feeling, his right hand shot out with dagger extended, connecting withsomething. A loud clang rang out in the cavern, and Dante turned to see a goblin, far taller than the others. It had a spear in its hand, which seemed to be in the process of rebounding after colliding with his dagger. The goblin used the rebounding force to swing the spear around, causing it to come back at him far faster than he had thought possible. In the brief moment before the spear connected with his side, Dante looked around, gauging the terrain around him. Seeing a relatively tall rock next to him, Dante sighed in relief and Blinked twice. The first Blink took him halfway up the face of the rock. The second time he Blinked, while still in midair, he appeared on top of the rock. He was happy to have a moment to collect his thoughts, and plan his method of attack. He didn¡¯t have time though, the goblinjumpedto the rock he was standing on. The top of the rock was nearly fifteen feet in the air, the goblin took him completely by surprise, whirling its spear at him as it landed beside him. Dante saw the spear flash toward him and quickly deflected it with the blade in his left hand while simultaneously attacking the goblin with his right. But the goblin effortlessly ducked out of the path of his swing. I thought these things were supposed to be slow and weak. This goblin is stronger and faster than the dire wolf I fought. In contrast to the other goblins, who were barely up to his waist, this goblin was almost a head taller than him. So, not only was it quick, but its reach with the spear far exceeded what he could match with the daggers. If he hadn¡¯t used the essence crystals before the fight, he would be dead without a doubt. He took a moment to check his mana reserves, 117/170. He briefly thought about using his Create Blade skill to create a longsword or a spear for the increased reach they could provide, but after looking his mana over, he decided against it. Losing 60 mana to create a new weapon would cost him the use of Blink two times, which was his best skill for both survival and offense for the time being. He needed to Blink behind the goblin and end the fight quickly, before his mana ran out. While he had been planning out his method of attack, the goblin, who had dodged his attack, came back with a two-handed straight thrust aimed at his torso. He saw the goblins overextension, and used Blink to teleport behind it. Using the brief moment of surprise his skill gave him to pierce it with his daggers, one dagger aimed between the goblins ribs to pierce the heart, and the other aiming for its unprotected lower right side. The daggers barely penetrated an inch into the monster¡¯s skin. Shit. Why didn¡¯t I level my strength? The goblin shrieked, then spun around and brought its spear down in an overhead swipe. Dante barely had time to react, reaching up and crossing his daggers to just barely catch the weapon in time. Upon connecting with his daggers, the spear slowed, but then overpowered him. After only a brief pause, it was once again swinging down towards his neck. He used Blink again, this time moving as far back away from the monster as he could and off the rock, trying to open up some distance between them. The monster paused, visibly confused at how he had moved away from it so quickly, but then hissed viciously and charged him. It gave him a moment to look the goblin over again. Clearly, he needed to reevaluate his method of attack. Blinking behind it and taking it by surprise wouldn¡¯t work, and he was running out of mana. The goblin didn¡¯t seem to have any visible weaknesses. Its eyes would probably be the most vulnerable location to attack. He could also possibly stab it through the mouth¡­ if it ever tried to bite him, but it didn¡¯t seem like that was likely as long as it had its spear.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. He needed to get close. Dante met the goblins charge as it thrust its spear at him. This time, instead of blinking away and losing mana, he deflected the blade while shifting his weight to the left in order to avoid it. Resulting in him being nicked in the side by the spearhead, but in return, he was well within range of the goblin now. The goblin panicked, quickly leaping backward, but not before he was able to pierce it through the left eye with his free dagger. The goblin screamed in pain clasping a hand over its ruined eye. It had made a fatal mistake, and he wasn¡¯t going to give it time to recover. Blinking to its right side, Dante stabbed down, piercing through the single hand that was now holding the spear. As the spear clattered to the ground, he followed up with his other dagger by piercing the monster¡¯s right eye, completely blinding it. He then kicked the spear away and Blinked out of its reach. Even though the attack drained his mana, the rest of the fight went smoothly. Without a weapon or the ability to see, the goblin was no longer a threat. He just had to sit back until it either stopped flailing around or his mana recharged, then Blink in and inflict damage before Blinking out before it could react. It took a few minutes before the goblin died, screaming while bleeding out on the floor from dozens of tiny cuts. He wasn¡¯t sure how he felt about killing it like that, it felt like he had cheated the goblin from a fair fight. But after seeing the monster crystal that appeared from its corpse, he quickly got over his hard feelings. He walked over to examine the crystal. It looked almost exactly like the essence crystals that had dropped from the other goblins. The same jagged shard like exterior, and acorn-like size, but instead of glowing with a dim white color, it glowed with a bright sickly green that matched the color of the goblin''s skin. He wasn¡¯t sure how to infuse the monster crystal, but as he reached down to pick it up the symbol of the Goddess on his wrist glowed blue momentarily. Curious, Dante opened his Status. In his Status, he had a new tab next to his Skills tab, a Monster Crystal tab. He manipulated world essence into it to open it. Skill Infused: None Passive Skill Infused: None Passive Skill Infused: None Attribute Crystal Infused: None Attribute Crystal Infused: None Monster Crystals that can be Infused: Passive Skill: Dark Vision Can see perfectly in the dark up to 5 feet. Costs 2.5 Mana per second Seeing the monster crystal¡¯s passive skill, Dante couldn¡¯t help but frown. Dark Vision was terrible. Not only would he barely be able to see past what his arms could reach, but it would also cost him 2.5 mana per second. That was more mana per second than he got from his Wisdom attribute, he also wasn¡¯t sure if he could turn the passive on or off like he could with his Rebirth of the Revenant passive. If it was like his Blade Dancer passive instead, he wouldn¡¯t be able to toggle it. Which was worrying, having negative Mana per second would only result in death. He decided that he wouldn¡¯t infuse any crystals into himself until he found out more information. That line of thinking done, he crushed the monster crystal. Dante checked his Classification tab in the Status to see how much essence he had gotten, and was surprised by what he found. World Essence waiting to be assigned: 618 Chronomancer lvl 3/10 (0/300 world essence) Blademancer lvl 4/10 (0/400 world essence) Blader lvl 4/10 (0/400 world essence) Revenant lvl 2/10 (0/200 world essence) Recent World Essence gain: 532 World Essence from: Monster Crystal The monster crystal had given him a staggering amount of world essence. This time he didn¡¯t need to think about what Classification he was going to level. Revenant has reached level 4 Attributes have been added: +2 Strength +2 Constitution Skill description for Rebirth of the Revenant (Passive) has been updated It was an easy choice. His lack of Strength had been a problem in every fight he had been through, but it was even worse against the goblin. The increased survivability from Constitution was also nice. After his Revenant Classification reached level 4, he also got a skill upgrade, but he wasn¡¯t interested in it for the time being. Until he had a better understanding of the Rebirth of the Revenant passive skill, he wasn¡¯t going to use it unless heavily injured. After he finished leveling his Classification, Dante closed his Status. Fighting the dungeon boss was far harder than he had thought it would be, but it was a valuable learning experience. The first thing he had discovered, was that basically everything Edward and Sam had told him was true. He still didn¡¯t trust the two men. But knowing that they didn¡¯t lie to him, about dungeons at the very least, definitely made him consider the offer Edward had given him. He also had more knowledge on dungeon bosses now. He had underestimated how strong a goblin dungeon boss would be in the Outer Edge region, and it would have cost him his life had he not leveled his Classifications before attempting it. Not only that, but the monster crystals gave a massive amount of world essence. If the goblin dungeon boss was considered one of the easiest and weakest dungeon bosses, then the 532 world essence he had gotten from it was probably the lowest amount possible for a full monster crystal. Another new thing that had happened during the fight was the strange sensation he had when the goblin had tried to sneak attack him. Not only had he sensed something, but his dagger immediately reacted, almost its own accord to parry the incoming spear. There was no way for him to be sure, but he assumed it was his Blade Dancer passives¡¯ increased ability +2. The way weapons felt in his hands since he got the change to his passive was as if they were almostalive.Regardless, it was something that he needed to look into thoroughly. Edward had mentioned that he had heard of his Blader Classification, it was possible someone would have information on his Blade Dancer passive. The though made Dante frowned. It was yet another thing he needed to find out about. It seemed like the more he learned, the less he actually knew. Dante rubbed his forehead in thought, thinking about what he should do next. His only plans were to possibly go to House Ailloss sometime in the next three years. At the very least, he needed to become powerful enough in that time to not get forcibly tied down by them. It didn¡¯t matter if what they had said about the dungeons was true, there was no way a powerful house in the Outer region didn¡¯t have anyone to fight in the tournament for them. Either Edward thought that Dante would have the best chance of winning, or he had some alternative motive. He dismissed Edward Ailloss from his mind. Whether or not he was going to compete in the tournament didn¡¯t matter. For now, he just needed to get stronger regardless. The best way of doing that was exploring dungeons, but that was a problem. He had barely managed to kill a goblin dungeon boss by himself. He made up his mind. He would travel to Kenguard, the largest city in the Outer Edge region, and join a dungeon exploration party. Chapter 10 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 10 Herman Claremont ¡°I¡¯m sick of sitting in this damn carriage all day, my ass hurts, and the food is terrible. Take me back NOW!¡± Herman stared at Greggory, who was sitting on the bench across from of him, in complete disgust. He had gone from the most respected guard in Alazel, to thisuselessshit¡¯swatchdog. ¡°Herman. As your better, Idemandyou turn this carriage around. I refuse to go to that damn academy.¡± Herman¡¯s eye began to twitch. He was only in this situation because the moron in front of him had lost an enchanted stone. He didn¡¯t even have anything to do with the situation, he had only gone with Joseph to try and locate the item. Thinking about Joseph, he couldn¡¯t help but wince. All things considered, I did get off pretty lightly... And at least the way back will be peaceful. ¡°I didn¡¯t even do anything wrong, and besides, what couldIpossibly learn from a school for commoners.¡± Herman groaned internally, the two weeks journey to the academy were going to be the longest two weeks of his life.
He didn¡¯t understand why, or how, anyone travelled in Aleria. Anyone who did it of their own volition must be mad though. Shortly after leaving the dungeon, he headed down the dirt road towards Kenguard and was robbed. Twice. In one day. The first time wasn¡¯t that bad, he imagined it was how most robberies went. Four rugged men stopped him, threatened him, then searched him. When that pleasant greeting was over, they let him go on his way. He didn¡¯t have anything of value on him, aside from the enchanted stone. Which was hidden snugly inside one of Isaac''s boots, it wasn¡¯t the most comfortable hiding place, but was well worth it when the bandits just let him go unmolested. After finding nothing, the dejected bandits even cursedhimfor wasting their time. He could have easily dealt with the bandits, but still had some aversion to killing, especially needlessly. The second robbery went far differently. The group that robbed him the second time was made up of three scruffy men with patchy beards, they looked like they hadn¡¯t eaten in weeks. They were even more gaunt than him, he actually felt bad for them. If he had any food, he would most likely have given it up willingly. The robbery progressed somewhat normally. The three men had already accomplished the ¡®stopping him¡¯ phase, and were well on their way to the to the ¡®threaten¡¯ stage. One of the men grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, and began to threaten him, while the other two got ahead of themselves and began to rummage through the tattered clothes he had gotten from Isaac. That was when everything went to shit. He was about to tell the overzealous men rummaging through his clothing that he had nothing of value on him when he heard the sound of the air being pierced around him and several thunking noises. He had no idea what the noise was, or at least didn¡¯t until the three men who were robbing him fell to the ground covered in arrows. In shock, Dante had turned to look in the direction that the arrows had come from. In the distance, an entire squadron of twenty guards on horseback were surrounding a carriage, six of which had bows, which were now aimed directly at him. How did they reach all the way over here with their bows? ¡°In the name of House Calman, halt!¡± What did they think he was going to do, with six arrows fromthosearchers pointed at him? Three of the men, who seemed to be the captain and two Warriors, broke off from the rest of the group and rode towards him. By the time the captain finally reached him, Dante¡¯s hands were held well over his head in surrender, hoping none of the men with bows would get excited and perforate him with arrows like the dead robbers at his feet. He could have always used Blink to easily escape to the forest on the side of the road, but he already had one noble house trying to rope him in, and had no intentions of revealing his uniqueness to another if he could resolve the situation peacefully. The man who he presumed to be the captain was the first to speak. ¡°State your name and business.¡±Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Dante was about to answer the man who was looking down on him from his horse, but was interrupted by a soft, soothing voice from the carriage. ¡°Sir Andres, why have we stopped.¡± SirAndres? Sir was a title given to combatants who were in service to nobles and given the honor of ¡®knight¡¯, usually only a title given to specialized combat Classifications. There shouldn¡¯t be any knights in the Outer Edge region who were in the service of nobles. The captain who had been speaking to him turned back to the carriage. ¡°There is nothing to concern yourself about my lady, we just stumbled upon some bandits in the middle of a robbery.¡± ¡°Bandits? I want to see them.¡± A second voice sounded out from the carriage, this one distinctly more masculine, but still soft. The carriage door opened and a boy appeared from within, he seemed to be roughly around Dante¡¯s age. The boy¡¯s head was framed by short blond curls, his features were soft, but he still had the high cheekbones that clearly distinguished a noble. As the boy popped out of the carriage, his blue eyes were filled with anticipation as he looked around trying to identify the bandits. His gaze fell on Dante, and his eyes widened. ¡°Wow! Do all bandits look like him? So cool!¡± The boy walked up to inspect Dante, who still had his hands held in surrender, and as the boy did, he brought more guards with him. Great¡­ The interaction wasn¡¯t going like he had hoped it would. ¡°Hold on Alexander.¡± The most beautiful girl that he had ever seen walked out of the carriage. She closely resembled the boy; golden blond curls that tumbled over her shoulders, the same soft features, and perfectly high cheekbones. Her rapture-blue eyes and glossy completion accented her cute, dainty nose and pouty lips. He was mesmerized by her figure, which was brought out by a snug dress that perfectly fit her thin waist. Never, in his life, had he seen anyone so perfect. ¡°You are always running off without me.¡± The girl lifted the hem of her dress as she chased after the boy, bringing the rest of the guards with her. He was now completely surrounded, six bows pointed toward his chest at point-blank range. When the captain saw the two of them, he frowned, then he motioned to the guard beside him to clear the three scruffy men¡¯s corpses so they would be out of sight. ¡°Therewerebandits, but we have already handled the situation. It would be best if you went back to the carriage.¡± The boy, Alexander, wasn¡¯t deterred in the slightest. He stopped staring at Dante¡¯s silver hair and red eyes for a brief moment to turn to Sir Andres. ¡°If the situation hasalreadybeen handled, then why isn¡¯t it safe to be out here?¡± After that, he resumed his inspection, now feeling his silver hair while his hands were held up in surrender. As soon as Alexander touched his hair, all of the guards surrounding them drew their weapons. He felt cold sweat form on his back. He swore that Alexander was trying to kill him. The Sir Andres just let out a sigh. Then turned back to Dante. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s just get this debacle over with. What¡¯s your name, and what¡¯s your business travelling along this road?¡± He was more than willing to ¡®get the debacle over with¡¯ and didn¡¯t waste any time. ¡°My name is Dante, and I was travelling to Kenguard so that I can join a dungeon party when these bandits attacked me.¡± Dante indicated the three corpses which had been unceremoniously thrown off the side of the road. The beautiful girl, who was standing behind Alexander as he prodded Dante¡¯s hair, gave him a charming smile. ¡°We are going to Kenguard to join the academy too! You should come with us.¡± Everyone, including Dante, looked at the girl dumbstruck. Had she really just invited a random dirt ridden stranger to join her in a two-week long journey? Alexander seemed unsure for a brief moment, but then just nodded excitedly at her words. ¡°What an excellent idea, we have yet to meet any locals, and this is a good opportunity to learn more about the Outer Edge region on the rest of our trip.¡± Learn more about the Outer Edge region? ¡°We don¡¯t have time to pick up random strangers, we have already been delayed.¡± Sir Andres was quick to intervene. He didn¡¯t look confident though, he was rubbing his eyes as if he had just been inflicted with a sudden migraine. ¡°Butlookat him, he was clearly hurt by the bandits.¡± At Layla¡¯s words, Dante looked down at his appearance. His clothes were still tattered and covered in blood from his fight from the goblin, and his side was actually still in the process of clotting where he had gotten nicked. He looked rugged, to say the least, and in front of her gaze, he felt truly conscious of his appearance for the first time. ¡°Yes.¡± Alexander nodded and spoke up. ¡°Look at him. Dante was it? You¡¯ll never make the application deadline for the academy if you travel all the way to Kenguard on foot.¡± He was slightly confused by her words. He had clearly stated that he was going to Kenguard to join a dungeon party, yet she thought he was going to some academy. Alexander seemed to misunderstand his confused expression. ¡°The application deadline is in sixteen days. Even by carriage, we are cutting it close, if you try to walk there on foot, there is no way you¡¯ll make it, and you¡¯ll have to wait another three months.¡± ¡°My lord, I don¡¯t think it would be for the best to bring a stranger with us on the trip to Kenguard. Besides, he looks¡­strange.¡± Layla cut in, confused. ¡°Is his appearance that uncommon in the Outer Edge region?¡± ¡°Yes,veryuncommon. I¡¯ve never seen anyone who looks like him before, he may be dangerous.¡± She pointed at Alexander, who was for some reason still feeling and inspecting his hair, while his arms werestillup in surrender. ¡°He doesn¡¯t seem dangerous, and besides I think hisappearanceis rather fetching.¡± Dante¡¯s face instantly flared crimson, which elicited a giggle from Layla and a groan from Sir Andres. Layla crossed her arms over her chest, then pouted to Sir Andres. ¡°It¡¯s settled then, Dante will be joining us on our ride to Kenguard.¡± ¡°But my lad-¡± Layla cut in. ¡°Dante will be joining us, and that is final.¡± He was taken off-guard by Layla¡¯s sudden change in tone, and how Sir Andres immediately backed down. ¡°Forgive my insolence, my lady.¡± Layla¡¯s smile was back. ¡°It isn¡¯t a big deal, go get him cleaned off before he joins us in the carriage.¡± The turn of events were more than confusing, he had only opened his mouth once, and now he was travelling with these strange people to Kenguard? Even worse, these people were clearly not from the Outer Edge region. Don¡¯t tell me all the nobles in the Outer region are as strange as Edward Ailloss¡­ Still, he allowed himself be dragged along, he found himself curious about the academy they were going to. If it was worth the time for nobles of the Outer region to travel to, he would definitely benefit as well. Yes, that was it. He just wanted more information on the academy they were talking about. His choice had nothing to do with how beautiful Layla was¡­ Chapter 11 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 11 He thought the carriage ride was going rather well. Apparently, the two siblings had been traveling towards Kenguard for over a month to get to the academy on time, and where ridiculously bored of being holed up inside of the carriage for the entirety of the journey. Everything made much more sense to him after that. He had been wondering why the two had practically kidnapped him off of the side of the road. When they saw a strange, red-eyed silver-haired boy, they couldn¡¯t help but take him with them on their trip. Of course, their jubilation at a newfound companion didn¡¯t last very long. Shortly after joining the two of them in the carriage, Sir Andres sent in two guards to sit on either side of him, completely halting any conversation. He wasn¡¯t the one to end the conversation though. He was uncomfortable with the two guards being there, but all things considered, he found them to be a reasonable addition to the carriage. If Sir Andreshadn¡¯tput guards inside the carriage, he would have questioned the man¡¯s sanity. The ones who stopped all conversation were Alexander and Layla. As soon as the two guards stepped into the carriage Alexander stopped mid-sentence to glare at one of them, Layla then took the opportunity to glare at the other. After the two picked their targets, they were relentless. Not another word was uttered for the rest of the day, and he was quite happy to sit there ignored while the two guards next to him sat uncomfortably. That lasted until the carriage stopped to rest for the night, literally hours later. Layla was the first to step out of the carriage, arms crossed and a pout on her face. ¡°Hmph, I¡¯m sorry you had to go through that Dante. I have truly been embarrassed by the actions of my house guards.¡± Alexander followed after her, also with arms crossed and a pout. ¡°Yes. We have truly brought dishonor upon House Calman.¡± Dante followed after them. He found the performance, which was clearly for Sir Andres, to be somewhat comical. ¡°It wasn¡¯t a problem. Actually, I found the trip to be quite enjoyable.¡± Layla snorted, turning to Sir Andres with her head tilted slightly up, as if to look down on the man that was almost a half-size taller than her. ¡°Do you see how Dante behaves? That is what manners look like.¡± The last two to come out of the carriage were the two guards. They looked utterly defeated. As soon as they appeared, they hurriedly slumped away to help set up camp. Sir Andres expression didn¡¯t change, he just stood arms crossed. ¡°Your safety is more important than my manners.¡± Unlike earlier, Layla didn¡¯t pull rank on Sir Andres, it seemed she knew how to pick he battles. She just stuck her tongue out at Sir Andres, then wordlessly grabbed Dante by the arm and led him to the small clearing where the rest of the guards began to set up tents. It almost seemed like she wanted to set up an interrogation. As soon as the guards had a small fire going for them, she plopped him down near it, then she and Alexander sat side by side, directly opposite of him, brimming with excitement. Layla was the first to ask a question, smiling at him. ¡°So, where are you from?¡± ¡°I¡¯m from a small town, located somewhat close to here, called Alazel.¡± Dante wasn¡¯t really sure if he liked where the line of questioning was starting, but he found it hard to resist Layla¡¯s smile. ¡°I¡¯ve lived there for the past couple of years.¡± Alexander followed his answer up quickly. ¡°Does everyone there look like you?¡± Dante winced. ¡°No.¡± Layla swatted Alexander on the head. ¡°It¡¯s rude to point out someone¡¯s differences.¡± ¡°Oww!¡± He rubbed his head. ¡°It¡¯s also rude to hit me when your Strength is so much higher than my Constitution. Besides, how was I supposed to know?¡± Layla rolled her eyes. ¡°Sir Andres is from the Outer Edge region, but he¡¯s never seen anyone who looks like him,obviously.¡± He saw an opportunity to change the direction of the conversation, and took it by asking a question he already knew the answer to. ¡°So, why did you come to the Outer Edge region?¡± He needed to find out more about the academy that they kept mentioning. Alexander¡¯s head tilted slightly to the side. ¡°We¡¯re here to attend the academy, isn¡¯t it the same for you?¡± In reply, Dante shook his head. ¡°No, I was only traveling to Kenguard so that I could join a dungeon exploration party.¡± Alexander was still visibly confused. ¡°How would you have joined a dungeon exploration party if you just got your Status, wouldn¡¯t it be better for a commoner to join the academy?¡± He still didn¡¯t understand the significance of the academy, or why it was better for him to join it instead of a dungeon exploration party. ¡°I have only heard that Kenguard is located in the highest world essence density area in the Outer Edge region, and surrounded by dungeons, which is why I was traveling there. The first time that I have heard of this academy, was when you mentioned it earlier today.¡±This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Both of their eyebrows knitted together, then at the same time, they both looked to check his combatant¡¯s glove. ¡°Didn¡¯t your local lord give you the option to go to the academy when he sent the new recruits?¡± Dante just scratched his head. ¡°Um¡­ no.¡± Technically, the only people who even knew he had a combat Classification were Edward and Sam. He knew that when someone got a combat Classification, they either stayed with the city guard or left for adventuring, but he wasn¡¯t really sure what that entailed. Layla still had a slightly confused expression on her face. ¡°Do you have a strange combat Classification that¡¯s not suited for fighting?¡± Alexander nodded hurriedly. ¡°Yes, that must be it.¡± He turned back to Layla. ¡°Why else wouldn¡¯t they tell him.¡± Dante thought about how best to answer Layla¡¯s question for a moment. He needed a way to get the conversation off of him and back onto the academy itself. Thus far, he had learned basically nothing except that he should have been invited upon getting a combat Classification. But even after thinking about where he should take the conversation for a moment, he had no idea what to say. ¡°I think it might be unusual.¡± Dante shrugged nonchalantly, trying not to make it seem like a big deal. ¡°So, why is the academy so important?¡± Of course, as soon as Layla heard his first answer, she completely ignored his question that followed. ¡°You might have an unusual Classification? What is it?¡± She was staring at him intently, in a way that was somewhat frightening. Alexander surprised him by quickly cutting in. ¡°I think that Sir Andres said that combatant¡¯s in the Outer Edge region like to keep their Classifications hidden. Maybe we shouldn¡¯t make him tell us.¡± Seeing an opportunity to switch the topic of conversation off of himself, he took it. ¡°Do people in the Outer region not hide their Classifications?¡± ¡°I suppose a few of the unaligned combatants do¡­¡± Layla¡¯s eyes shifted upward in thought. ¡°But in polite society, it is considered rude to try and hide your Classification. Besides, it wouldn¡¯t matter anyway, there are too many spies in noble houses. Still, you won¡¯t be able to continue to hide your Classification if you want to enroll in the academy.¡± He wasn¡¯t sure how he felt about that piece of information. The academy might not be worth it to him if he had to expose his Classifications. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Alexander saw his expression and attempted to reassure him. ¡°If the academy didn¡¯t know what your Classification was, they wouldn¡¯t know how to train you. Even though the academy focuses on individual freedom, there are still some mandatory classes. A Mage won¡¯t learn how to fight with world essence manipulation, and a Warrior won¡¯t learn mana manipulation.¡± World essence manipulation and mana manipulation? World essence manipulation seemed standard, it was how he activated the Status on his wrist. But if there was a class for it, there were clearly uses for it that he wasn¡¯t aware of. That alone might be worth going to the academy to learn, but he had never even heard of mana manipulation. ¡°Do you have to show your Classification to the academy?¡± ¡°Yes, otherwise they won¡¯t accept you.¡± After considering it for another moment, Layla continued. ¡°Sometimes nobles will only show one of their Classifications. To nobles, power is everything. Anytime one of us has a useless non-combat Classification, it is seen as a sign of impure blood. But hiding a Classification is pointless, everyone will assume the worst anyways.¡± So, he could join the academy if he only showed one of his Classifications, but the one he chose would be crucial. Alexander had said his Classification would change his curriculum in the academy. He didn¡¯t know what mana manipulation was but, it sounded useful. He also hadn¡¯t learned how to properly use a sword yet. Another way to choose the Classification he would reveal, would be to use the Classification that would bring him the least amount of attention. Edward had mentioned that he recognized his Blader Classification, and even though he said it was rare and powerful, his reaction wasn¡¯t too extreme. Also, revealing his Blader Classification wouldn¡¯t put him at risk. Even if someone attacked him with a way to neutralize his Blader skills, he had three other Classifications to take them off guard. Layla saw the pondering look on Dante¡¯s face and sat forward expectantly. ¡°So, will you tell us your Classification now?¡± ¡°I guess so, I have the Blader Classification.¡± There was no obvious change on Layla¡¯s face, but Alexander¡¯s mouth was agape. ¡°A-Are you sure you have the Blader Classification?¡± Alexander seemed to be having trouble coming to terms with the new information. ¡°Um, yes?¡± He now had a feeling that Edward had underplayed how rare his Blader Classification was. Edward said that it was rare and powerful, but there were plenty of rare and powerful Classifications. Lance¡¯s Lancer Classification, for example, was rare and powerful. It wouldn¡¯t have elicited a response like this though. Dante silently cursed the man. Layla¡¯s expression changed to something he couldn¡¯t comprehend, then she stood and walked off. Dante turned to Alexander, who was staring at him with a blank face. ¡°Did I do something wrong?¡± Alexander began to rub his forehead. ¡°You didn¡¯t, but the fact that you didn¡¯t even know about the academy is a massive issue.¡± He was really starting to regret telling them about his Classification. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°My house, House Calman, originated in the Outer Edge region. We were actually the ruling house in Kenguard before we moved into the Outer region. Initially, we had trouble finding a foothold there because no one wanted to join a new and unstable house, and we had a hard time recruiting combatants. It was why our house set up the academy in the Outer region, it is a tool to recruit talents from all over the Outer Edge region every year. It is, for example, where we recruited Sir Andres.¡± Alexander looked over at Dante. ¡°We pay a yearly stipend to nobles in the Outer Edge region, nearly a fortune, so that they will send anyone with a rare Classification to the academy. That fact that we almost missed out on a Blader Classification because someone didn¡¯t tell you about the academy¡­¡± He cleared his throat. ¡°Needless to say, there has been a large oversight.¡± ¡°Is the Blader Classification that rare?¡± Alexander looked at Dante as if staring at an idiot. ¡°Are you serious? There is only one Blader Classification in the entirety of the Outer region; Edward Ailloss. Not only is he the head of one of the strongest houses, but he is also a complete monster. Recently, when his son was murdered, he wiped out an entire house in one night,singlehandedly. He killed thousands.¡± Damn him. I should have chosen a Classification no one has heard of. Just as Dante began to curse Edward internally, Layla came back, dragging Sir Andres by the arm. Sir Andres didn¡¯t look happy to be dragged around their makeshift camp. ¡°What is this all about?¡± Layla wasn¡¯t in the mood for his attitude and snapped at him. ¡°What ¡®this is all about¡¯ is a Blader Classification not evenknowingabout our academy.¡± She pointed to Dante. Sir Andres looked at Dante. ¡°Him? ABladerClassification?¡± The sarcasm was almost palpable. Dantehad an ugly expression on his face, it seemed it was too late to take his words back. Sir Andres just snorted, pulled out a short sword from the sheath at his side, then tossed it to Dante. ¡°Let¡¯s see what you can do then.¡± Chapter 12 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 12 Dante caught the short sword that Sir Andres tossed him. As soon as the cold steel touched his hand, he could feel the familiar, strange sensation from the weapon, as if it had its own awareness. Sir Andres then pulled out his other short sword, and leveled it at him. ¡°Ready?¡± Ready for what? I didn¡¯t even agree to anything. ¡®Ready¡¯ must have been the knight¡¯s warning signal, because as soon as he said it, he lunged at Dante. Sweeping his sword towards Dante¡¯s left side. Dante easily parried the blow. The knight seemed to be testing him, but when his sword collided with Sir Andres¡¯, it felt like he swung at a mountain. The impact from the swords clashing together ran through his arm, almost costing him his grip. Dante¡¯s eyes went wide at the impact, and he cursed internally. As soon as Sir Andres¡¯ sword was deflected, the knight¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he seemed to take Dante as more of a threat. The knight leveled his sword and came at him again, this time Dante was prepared and knew the Knight¡¯s Strength. As Sir Andres stabbed at him, he moved to the left, using his Agility to dodge the blow completely. Just when he thought that the threat was gone, he felt a tingling sensation on his right side. Like when the goblin sneak attacked him, but far less distinct. He reacted instantly, allowing his sword to be moved as if on its own, it felt like gravity was pulling it to protect his side. As soon as the sword moved there, he felt like someone had just bashed it with a sledgehammer. Sir Andres had somehow gone from a fully extended stab, sword motionless, immediately to a quick slash into his side. The knight didn¡¯t pause this time. Sir Andres began to rain blow after blow on him, sparks flew everywhere, and he was pretty sure that the knight was out for blood. As the fight progressed, Sir Andres moved faster, struck harder, and became even more vicious. He had already blocked dozens of blows from striking his vitals, and didn¡¯t counterattack a single time. He didn¡¯t even know how to handle himself with two swords, much less one. His usual tactic of blocking with one weapon and attacking with the other wasn¡¯t going to work. The fight progressed that way for a few minutes. Every strike that Sir Andres made, the one that followed was slightly faster, and harder. After a furious exchange of blows, the knight slapped his sword from his hand with sheer power and swung at his neck. He could feel the tingling sensation from earlier in his neck, far stronger this time, as if saying that death was imminent, but he had no weapon to block the attack. He had a few options; he could create a new sword, he could blink away, or he could hope that the vicious knight in front of him didn¡¯t chop off his head. He decided to go with the latter, he really didn¡¯t want them to know about his other Classifications. Besides, he didn¡¯tthinkthe knight would actually kill him. The tip of Sir Andres sword pricked his neck as it came to a stop. Dante just heaved a sigh of relief and fell to the floor, panting. He was completely exhausted, and to make things worse, the knight standing over him wasn¡¯t tired at all. Sir Andres held out a hand to help him up, and although he almost slapped it away, he thought better of it and accepted. When Dante finally stood up and looked around at his surroundings, he found everyone at the camp looking back at him astonished. At first, he was confused, but then Alexander spoke up. ¡°How are you so strong, didn¡¯t you just get your Status on the last Day of Holy Bestowal?¡± He cursed himself, he hadn¡¯t even thought of underplaying his strength when Sir Andres had surprised him like that¡­ Dante¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly. Of course, they wanted to test me off guard. Why else would Layla drag him to me without warning? He didn¡¯t even know why they would test him. Numerous Classifications could swing a sword well, the fight would have proved nothing¡­ He needed to be warier of nobles, they all seemed to be playing some game that he was a pawn in. Dante smiled back to Alexander. ¡°I got lucky, and a dungeon party took me along to collect loot for them. When we defeated the dungeon boss, I even got a monster crystal shard, and it gave me a lot of world essence.¡± After hearing his response, the rest of the guards who were watching them began to talk among themselves and disperse from the area, returning back to their tents and fires. Layla grinned. ¡°Wow! You were lucky to be brought along to a dungeon so soon after you got your Status.¡± She looked him over with a seemingly worried expression. ¡°You look exhausted, maybe you should go to sleep early. There¡¯s plenty of room in Alexander¡¯s tent for the two of you.¡± Alexander covered his mouth and yawned. ¡°I¡¯m also feeling pretty tired.¡± That was poorly done¡­ and obvious. Dante looked between the two, they looked like they were worried about him, but he couldn¡¯t help but be suspicious. He decided to go along with Alexander. Clearly, that was what they wanted from him. He had a lot to think about, the two of them were acting far differently after they found out his Classification. Edward¡¯s acting made theirs seem like a joke. If Layla¡¯s first instinct on finding out his Classification was to get Sir Andres to test him while he was off-guard, she was far more cunning than he had thought, and Alexander¡¯s sloppy act of being tired at the end had done nothing but help confirm his suspicions. Then again, it may have just been a coincidence in both cases, and he could be overthinking things¡­ But for the time being, it would be best to act as if he wasn¡¯t.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. He regretted revealing his Blader Classification more than ever, it likely meant one more noble house in the Outer region trying to rope him in. It wasn¡¯t necessarily a bad thing though. Alexander had said that their house used the academy to recruit new combatants. If they were going to attend the academy with him, they would most likely try to win him over slowly, with all the perks their house could give him. He definitely wasn¡¯t averse to that. He needed to get stronger, and if the academy would help him do that, he was more than willing to use the nobles who were trying to use him in turn. Even if they wouldn¡¯t let him go of his own free will, leaving them afterward wouldn¡¯t be that much of a problem either, he just needed to build up a certain amount of trust with them, and they would drop their guard. Dante rubbed his forehead. The entire situation had become problematic, he was enjoying Alexander and Layla¡¯s company before, but now didn¡¯t know how he felt about the two. He just hoped that he was overthinking things¡­
Layla Calman Shortly after Dante and Alexander left, Layla turned to Sir Andres. ¡°Well?¡± The knight thought it over for a moment. ¡°There¡¯s something off about him.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± One of Layla¡¯s eyebrows quirked up. ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­¡± Sir Andres just let out a long sigh. ¡°His attributes were all over the place. Not only was his Dexterity crazy; but his Agility, Strength, and even Constitution wereallhigher than average as well.¡± His words didn¡¯t bother her in the slightest. ¡°So? We know from Edward Ailloss that the Blader Classification is unusual to say the least, all of his attributes are higher than they should be as well. It¡¯s probably some sort of passive skill.¡± ¡°Yes, but Edward has another Classification that would increase his attributes¡­ I think the boy may have another Classification as well.¡± She thought it over for a moment. ¡°That should be almost impossible if he is a commoner in the Outer Edge region. Do you think he is secretly a part of some noble house?¡± ¡°I doubt it, if a house in the Outer Edge region had a descendant with two Classifications, much less one as rare as Blader, it¡¯s unlikely they would let him just wander around unescorted.¡± Sir Andres glanced back at Layla. ¡°Also, his appearance is quite strange, we should have heard something about him by now if he was a noble. What do you think we should do?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if he is a part of a house or not. Even without a second Classification, his potential with the Blader Classification is worth my time to recruit. For now, we need to build a closer relationship with him.¡± She paused to look him in the eye. ¡°We can¡¯t let anyone else know that there is a Blader Classification in the Outer Edge region though, tell the guards to keep everything they saw quiet, and help him apply to the academy as a Warrior for the time being.¡± ¡°Yes, my lady.¡±
Dante winced in pain as he felt every bump of the carriage jolt through him. Not only was he sore from the fight with Sir Andres the night before, but his arms felt completely destroyed from absorbing the impact of the knight¡¯s sword during the fight. One nice change, but also slightly disconcerting, was that they didn¡¯t have the two escorts in the carriage with them today. He tried to ignore the jolting pain in his arms from being jerked around by the carriage and, clearing his throat, he turned to Alexander and Layla. ¡°So, why do so many people go to the academy?¡± They were both visibly excited at his interest, and Alexander was the first to speak up. ¡°Our house provides the academy with resources that are usually unattainable for denizens of the Outer Edge region. Not only are there numerous different enchantments that we power through shipped in essence crystals, but the academy also owns multiple dungeons that are restricted for students use only.¡± The news was more than surprising, enchantments were beyond rare in the Outer Edge region. ¡°Enchantments?¡± Layla nodded. ¡°We hired Enchanters from the Outer region to lay down several enchantments in the academy, some of them are costly to run, but well worth it for the training opportunities they provide.¡± That part, he didn¡¯t understand. To the best of his knowledge enchantments only gave objects certain powers, like the enchanted stone he possessed. They could also do things like make weapons more powerful, but he didn¡¯t see how that could help with training. ¡°What kind of training opportunities could enchantments provide?¡± Alexander had look of concentration on his face, thinking it over for a moment. ¡°I think the ones at the academy are somewhat basic, but they should be able to do very simple combat simulations. I can¡¯t say for certain though, since I haven¡¯t been to the academy and have only heard some second-hand knowledge.¡± ¡°Combat simulation?¡± ¡°Yes, they are made by enchanting a room with runes that create apparitions, they can be attacked and attack without harming the person using the enchantment. It¡¯s pretty much like fighting an opponent that doesn¡¯t die for as long as you want.¡± That sounded amazing, he could already imagine how much it would help him to be able to test his skills in a simulation. Alexander saw Dante¡¯s excited expression and winced. ¡°Even if we helped you get access to the training rooms, they would only be training dummies that stand still at best. The ones that do actual combat simulation cost a large number of essence crystals to keep running, which means you would have to pay to use them, and they are expensive.¡± That piece of news hit him rather hard. He had multiple opportunities to collect money or valuable items, but didn¡¯t because he hadn¡¯t had a use for money in the past and no one would sell to him. Thinking back on his stupidity, Dante cursed himself. He should have robbed the first group of robbers, or cleaned out the members of his dungeon party that Edward killed¡­ When he got to Kenguard, he would need to find a way to make money. Still, the academy was beginning to sound like a much better opportunity than he had imagined. ¡°What kind of things can you learn at the academy?¡± Layla smiled. ¡°Everything. The better that you perform within the academy, the more that you will be able to accomplish. While it may be true that there are certain¡­ dangers within the academy that will need to be overcome, it is still safer for lone combatant¡¯s overall, rather than traveling on their own.¡± The way she compared surviving in the academy to traveling by yourself was definitely alarming. The mortality rate for single combatants was staggering. Dante was just about to ask about the academy¡¯s dungeons when the carriage stopped. Alexander stood up and stretched out his legs. ¡°It must be time for our midday meal, I could have sworn that we still had an hour or two, but I¡¯m not complaining.¡± He walked over to the carriage door and stepped out. Dante looked over at Layla with eyebrows raised, they definitely shouldn¡¯t have stopped so soon. She just shrugged at him. Just as he was about to get up and check what was going on, Alexander came back in the carriage, face pale and covered in vomit. He didn¡¯t say a word, just sat back down on the bench while staring at nothing. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Layla was holding onto his shoulder, expression somewhat worried. She turned back to Dante. ¡°What happened?¡± How am I supposed to know? Dante heaved a long sigh. ¡°I¡¯ll go check.¡± Standing up, he exited the carriage. What he saw made him freeze. Around a burnt caravan that Sir Andres and his guard were picking through, disfigured corpses of men, women, and children were strewn everywhere. Some were dismembered, some were nailed to trees, and others seemed to have been tortured before they died. It was the most gruesome thing he had ever seen. Dante fell to his knees, and immediately heaved up the contents of his stomach. Chapter 13 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 13 Dante was still throwing up when he heard the carriage door behind him open. He turned around to tell Layla not to come out, but as he opened his mouth to speak, the only thing that came out was more bile. ¡°Oh my Goddess.¡± Layla covered her mouth with both of her hands in shock of the scene before her. ¡°Sir Andres, who did this?¡± That¡¯s it? Layla¡¯s shocked face when taking in the scene was her only change in expression. She didn¡¯t throw up, she didn¡¯t look sick, and her face didn¡¯t pale even slightly. There was a clear-cut difference between her reaction to the corpses and Alexander¡¯s, or his for that matter. Seeing Layla step out of the wagon, Sir Andres began walking to her. The way he walked over the corpses so casually was unsettling, the knight looked like he was just taking an afternoon stroll. He had killed before, he had even mutilated corpses only a day ago, but seeing the bodies of these women and children that were clearly toyed with before death was the most horrifying thing he had ever seen. He didn¡¯t know how Sir Andres, the rest of the guards, and evenLaylawere so unaffected by the bodies surrounding them. Gritting his teeth, Dante stood up. He wouldn¡¯t allow himself be incapacitated by the mere sight of bodies. It wouldn¡¯t be the last time he saw such a scene, and pausing to empty his stomach would likely cost him his life. Besides,Laylawas completely unaffected. Something about being on the floor retching, while she was casually asking Sir Andres questions, made him feel far too inferior. ¡°It¡¯s hard to tell. They most likely aren¡¯t bandits, they left too many valuables to burn in the caravan. Also, we haven¡¯t found any sigils to indicate whether there were any nobles with them, so it¡¯s unlikely the result of a house war.¡± The knight let out a sigh. ¡°So far, all we have found out is that it was a small group, roughly ten or so people judging by their tracks.¡± Layla considered the information for a moment. ¡°Can we hunt them down?¡± ¡°The attack happened roughly a day ago. It seems like they stayed here for about half a day before leaving, so they have a large lead on us.¡± Sir Andres paused in thought. ¡°I suppose if we left now and gave chase we could catch them in one or two days¡¯ time, but the path they took is out of our way, if we gave chase we would likely miss the acceptance deadline for the academy.¡± Layla¡¯s expression didn¡¯t waver in the slightest. ¡°That¡¯s fine, take half the guard and give chase. The rest of us will continue to the academy.¡± Dante blinked in confusion, then looked around, wondering if he and Layla were seeing the same thing. She sees an entire caravan butchered, then wants to send her strongest guard away with half of the others? He was about to go find Alexander, who¡¯s reaction seemed far more sensible given the situation. Hoping that Alexander could talk some sense into Layla and Sir Andres, when the knight spoke up. ¡°Absolutely not, I won¡¯t leave my charges alone at the first sign of danger.¡± Hearing the Sir Andres¡¯ words, he was more than relieved. Layla, on the other hand, just rolled her eyes. ¡°You already said they were half a days¡¯ ride away from here. There is no way they could cause problems for us. Not only that, but this is the Outer Edge region, the other guards we brought will be more than enough to solve any problems that should arise.¡± ¡°Regardless of the danger, I have been personally ordered by your mother to protect you, and I will do that to my best judgment until commanded otherwise.¡± Layla just huffed irritation, spun on her heels, and returned to the carriage. After she left Sir Andres turned to Dante. ¡°Iexpectyou to not cause any problems when I¡¯m gone.¡± The threat in his voice was clear as day. The implications behind his words were clear. ¡°What are you talking about, you just told Layla you weren¡¯t going.¡± The knight just snorted. ¡°Her mother ordered me to ignore any commands from Layla that might put her in danger, but just becauseshecan¡¯t order me to chase after a brigand, doesn¡¯t mean she can¡¯t make someone else order me to do it.¡± Cursing, Dante spun to the carriage, hoping he could still persuade Alexander before Layla got to him. Just as he turned to face the carriage, the door sprung open and Alexander¡¯s pale face popped out of the door. ¡°Sir Andres take half the guards and kill the men responsible for this.¡± He indicated to the corpses around them. After he finished speaking, he immediately clamped a hand over his mouth, attempting to stop himself from vomiting, and disappeared back into the carriage. Shit. Dante turned back to the Sir Andres and cleared his throat. ¡°Maybe I should go with you? I¡¯m sure I could be of some use.¡± He had no intentions of leaving the only specialized combatant when the potential dangers were so great. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the other guard¡¯s Classifications are level 8 and up.¡± With that said, he ignored Dante and began to order around the rest of the guards in preparation to set off. Level 8 and up... How is that supposed to reassure me? Dante looked around at the corpses. He didn¡¯t even think about trying to collect blood for his glove, even if it would have been an excellent opportunity for him to test if he could get non-combat Classifications on it. It wasn¡¯t just that the guards would probably notice, but thinking of violating the bodies any further brought back his earlier queasiness. Dante just gave a defeated sigh, then went back into the carriage where he sat down across from a pale Alexander, and Layla, who had a triumphant smile on her face. After staring at Layla for a moment, he couldn¡¯t help but ask the single question that was on his mind. ¡°Why would you send away Sir Andres, he¡¯s our strongest combatant. You could have just sent a group of the other guards to handle it.¡± Her triumphant smile got even wider. ¡°Sir Andres is allowed to refuse my orders, I¡¯ve been looking for an excuse to get rid of him for weeks.¡± Dante¡¯s eye twitched. There was no way she had just sent away their specialized combatant for that, or at least he hoped she wouldn¡¯t. No matter which way he looked at it, there was no other reason he could think of for her to get rid of the knight. Dante let out a long sigh. He had no interest in talking to Layla at the moment, something about her seemed off to him. He would have tried to get some more information out of Alexander, but Alexander seemed a little too preoccupied with trying not to be sick. So, without any options, he put his head against the carriage wall and tried to get some rest.
He was starting to get a bit antsy. Sir Andres had left with the guards a little over seven days ago, and they hadn¡¯t seen them since. That wasn¡¯t the reason why he was so anxious though. No, the reason was because they had just stumbled on another group of desecrated corpses on their way toward Kenguard. Dante stepped out of the carriage and walked to Layla who was conversing with a guard. At least it¡¯s not a caravan this time. Dante looked at the two wagons that were still burning, only six bodies surrounded them, and at the very least they allseemedlike men this time. The way they were treated in death was similar to those at the caravan they had stumbled upon days ago, the only difference was that this time the horses also seemed to have been toyed with. The guard talking with Layla was giving a report as he joined them. ¡°They couldn¡¯t be far off. Not only did the attack happen in the last few hours, but it also seemed like they stayed here for quite a while. I would suggest we hurry on our way to avoid running into them.¡±If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Layla scratched her chin. ¡°Do we know how many attackers there were?¡± ¡°We think three, judging by the tracks we picked up, but there may have been a few who didn¡¯t participate in the fighting. It¡¯s somewhat unlikely though, one combatant could have done this.¡± He indicated to the six bodies by the burning wagon. ¡°Yet for some reason, they attacked with three and stayed here for quite a while, so we think its most likely their entire group.¡± Layla¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be a part the group that Sir Andres was pursuing, if he noticed that some of them had split off and headed back towards us, there is no way he wouldn¡¯t have come back as well. We can also assume that Sir Andres has run into complications since he hasn¡¯t come back yet, he has had more than enough time to take care of them and catch up to the carriage¡­ For now, we will continue toward the academy. It will already complicate things if Sir Andres doesn¡¯t arrive on time, we can¡¯t be late as well.¡± After receiving his orders, the guard saluted Layla. ¡°Yes, my lady.¡± As the guard walked off, Layla noticed Dante and turned to him with a somewhat strained smile. ¡°It would be best if we went back into the carriage and resumed our journey to Kenguard.¡± He was both happy and terrified to see Layla¡¯s serious expression. He was happy, because he was still somewhat resentful about how she had sent away their specialized combatant as soon as their journey actually became somewhat dangerous, and he hoped she was finally feeling some amount of the anxiety he had been experiencing for the last seven days. On the other hand, he was terrified because of her serious expression. Layla had been completely unfazed by anything that had happened on the trip, seeing her expression put him on edge. He was itching to create a weapon to defend himself with. Dante cleared his throat. ¡°Are there any spare swords that I could borrow? It would be best to arm myself now in case of an ambush.¡± ¡°Of course, the spares are in the storage compartment of the carriage.¡± Layla¡¯s reply was somewhat absentminded as she walked away lost in thought. Dante walked back toward the carriage, making his way to the storage compartment. The supply of weapons inside thoroughly surprised him. There wasn¡¯t a large quantity, but the variety was astounding. There were spears, glaives, and swords in shapes and sizes he had never seen before. Dante examined a few of them in interest, trying his best to remember the way they were made for testing later. After looking a few of them over, he began looking through the weapons for what he could best arm himself with. There was nothing close to the dagger-like swords he created with his Create Blade skill in size. So, he ended up picking out a short sword and a sheath, which made him quite happy, and two daggers which he tucked into each of his rugged boots. Satisfied with his selection, and his new protection in the case of an attack, he headed back into the carriage to sit with Layla and Alexander. Alexander smiled as he noted Dante¡¯s new weapon. ¡°I was wondering when you would get a weapon, it seemed strange to me that you were always unarmed. Judging by how you fought with Sir Andres, you would be a big help in a fight.¡± He was slightly confused by Alexander¡¯s statement. ¡°Why did you think it was strange that I was unarmed? Neither of you have even held a weapon since we met.¡± Although he was genuinely curious about what he had asked, in reality, he didn¡¯t carry a weapon since joining them because he didn¡¯t have one, and he didn¡¯t want to expose his Create Blade skill¡­ and because Sir Andres would have most likely gutted him if he was armed with a sword around Layla and Alexander. Alexander laughed at his question. ¡°We both have magic based Classifications. Not only do we both have Mage Classifications, but I have a Warlock Classification, and Layla has a Sorcerer Classification.¡± Dante looked at Alexander in astonishment. Layla had told him that nobles didn¡¯t mind disclosing their Classifications, but just telling him on a whim was surprising to say the least. Their Classifications themselves were far more shocking though. Not only were they both Mages, but a Warlock and a Sorcerer. Those were beyond rare, and combined with the Mage Classification, far too powerful. He looked at Layla who was just smiling back at him. He would have never expected her to be a Sorcerer Classification. Sorcerer Classifications excelled in large-scale combat, not only did they have low-cost skills, but they also focused on the Wisdom attribute. The skills may be weaker because of it, but a Sorcerer could almost use skills nonstop. ¡°How?¡± Alexander puffed out his chest in pride. ¡°The bloodline of House Calman. We come from a long line of magic Classifications, but Layla and Iareexceptional, even compared to the rest of those in our house.¡± He was about to ask a new line of questions on how the two had both ended up with magic Classification types, but was interrupted by shouting outside of the carriage. All three of them froze. There was far too much shouting. They only had ten guards from House Calman with them, but it sounded like dozens of people were outside of their carriage. Before he could even react, Layla stood up and charged out of the carriage followed closely by Alexander. Dante sat in the carriage for a brief moment, hereallydidn¡¯t want to get involved in a fight if he wasn¡¯t going to use Blink. After that moment, Dante released a sigh and stepped out of the carriage. He was stunned by the scene that greeted him. Their Warrior Classification guards were surrounding the carriage in a loose circle, each of them were being pressed by at least two attackers. The attackers themselves were rugged, but in full leather armor, slightly better than any of the robbers that he had run into when he left the dungeon. Further away from the circle, was a group of archers trying to pick off their guards from range. Conversely, inside their loose pocket of guards were three of their Ranger Classification archers and Alexander and Layla. The two worked in conjunction with the archers, hurling orbs of fire any time they had a clear shot of the attackers. The fight seemed to be somewhat of a standoff, the only ones who were really inflicting casualties were Alexander and Layla, their red orbs of flame impacting anyone who stepped out for a clear shot. Dante wasted no time, pulling out the short sword from its sheath and drawing one of the daggers from his boots. He examined the battle, trying to find out where he would be most effective, and immediately locked onto the group of attacking archers sitting outside of the circle. If he could eliminate the threat they posed to the Warriors holding off the rest of the attackers, they wouldn¡¯t need to divide their focus between holding off the attackers and avoiding arrows. It should end the stalemate. He ran directly at the group of three attackers that were standing between him and the archers, sliding into the right of the guard who was trying to hold them at bay. He was able to easily kill the attacker closest to him, taking the attacker by surprise through the neck while he was busy trying to attack the guard. Immediately after he downed the first attacker, the attacker next to him roared and turned toward him, swiping at him with his sword. Dante immediately dodged under the sword, utilizing his Agility to narrowly dodge the blade. As he ducked the weapon, he could feel the familiar tingling sensation on his side and lower gut. He allowed his reflexes to take over and his sword and dagger flashed in front of him, intercepting two arrows. Dante sucked in air through his teeth. Too close. After thanking the Goddess that he had chosen the Blade Dancer passive, he refocused on the two attackers in front of him, needing a way to get rid of them. ¡°Layla!¡± Immediately after he shouted for her, a ball of fire struck the attacker directly in front of him. The fire killed the man immediately, leaving a smoldering corpse. I can¡¯t believe that actually worked. He was completely surprised at how quickly Layla had acted at his shout. Leaving the last attacker for the guard to handle, Dante charged the six archers. Of course, the archers immediately noticed him break off from the battle and run at them. They began showering arrow after arrow at him as he charged, he could only assume they had a Ranger Classification because of the sheer speed at which they fired from their bows. It was a strange sensation, charging at a group of archers, blades moving almost automatically to deflect arrows with barely a thought focused on it. He felt invulnerable as he charged them, coming ever closer to slaughter them. Or at least he did, until he was ten feet away and three of the archers released arrows at the same time. The feeling was far stranger than it had been before. He could feel his dagger darting up to block an arrow coming at his shoulder, his sword swinging down to cover his right thigh, and could tell an arrow was going to come in directly for his gut. Shit. An arrow through the gut was always a long and painful death if you didn¡¯t have a healer, he could use his Rebirth of the Revenant to save himself if he got to the archers, but his healed wound and exhaustion would giveaway his passive skill. As he thought about the arrow piercing his gut, the dagger that felt like it was being sucked to his shoulder sliced down, blocking the arrow approaching his stomach. Interesting. He didn¡¯t know he could change which incoming attack his passive could block, but it seemed like it had switched on a mere thought. He was snapped out of his musings by an arrow abruptly slamming into his left shoulder. He paused for a moment, then Gritted his teeth and tried his best to ignore the pain as he charged into the group of archers before him. Even with his left arm basically disabled from the arrow, he easily massacred the entire group of archers. A few of them managed to throw down their bow¡¯s and pull out daggers, but they were easily overpowered as he swiped his sword across each of their necks. As soon as he was done, Dante fell to the floor, clutching his shoulder in pain, and taking in the battle around him. To his surprise, the fight was almost completely over. Two attackers stood side by side fending off the attacks of three guards, while another three held their hands over their heads in surrender. He was relieved at the turn of events in the battle, he had no interest in resuming the fighting with an arrow firmly wedged into his shoulder. Deciding he wouldn¡¯t make the same mistake twice, he immediately began to loot the archers he killed, taking everything he thought might have some value. Aside from their bows and a few articles of clothing and armor, the men didn¡¯t have much. Three of the men had rings, but they seemed like wedding bands and were made completely out of iron. They did have a few coins each though, and he emptied all of them into a single coin purse and counted them. A total of 127 coppers, which was equal to 1 silver and 27 coppers. He wasn¡¯t sure how expensive the enchantments at the academy would be to use; but if Layla, a noble, thought that it was expensive, he could almost guarantee what he just looted from these archers wouldn¡¯t amount to much. Dante picked up his meager rewards from the fight and went to rejoin the group at the carriage. Chapter 14 Dante¡¯s Immortality - Chapter 14 He was in a rather good mood, despite the arrow wound in his shoulder that was still flaring in pain as he was jostled by the bumpy carriage. Sir Andres had said that they would make it to the academy within the next few hours, and he was more than happy to be done traveling. After the attack on the carriage, Layla immediately had their new captives questioned. It was somewhat surprising, to him at least, that the attackers were rebels targeting the academy¡¯s supply lines. Apparently, not everyone was happy with the way House Calman was running things. The mere fact that there were rebels at all was slightly worrying. Still, their opinion didn¡¯t carry much weight with him after seeing the desecrated bodies of those they killed. After some more initial questioning, Layla had two of their captives killed, while keeping the one who seemed the most afraid alive for further questioning when Sir Andres returned. That done, Layla then forced the group to continue moving toward the academy, and further from where the attackers said their main camp was. He was more than happy to continue move further away from the potential threat. Not only was there a hole in his shoulder, but four of their Warrior guards had serious injuries that would limit them during a fight. Thankfully, they were still fit for riding. After that, the trip had actually started to go somewhat smoothly. Four days after they resumed their journey, a pissed off Sir Andres rode into their camp with three of the original nine guards he took with him in tow. Sir Andres didn¡¯t say much after he arrived, and when Layla and Alexander explained what happened to him, he simply turned to their tied-up captive and executed him by chopping off his head. After that, the knight turned to them and told them that the situation with the brigands had already been dealt with before walking off. He didn¡¯t really think killing the last captive was the best decision. After all, there were still a lot of questions that were unanswered. But after seeing Sir Andres¡¯ angry expression when looking at Layla, he decided that he wasn¡¯t going to be the one to question the knight¡¯s decision. The trip after that was far quieter, everyone seemed to be in a somber mood. The guards were depressed from their lost comrades, Sir Andres was pissed that he had thrown away his men¡¯s lives to deal with a group of ¡®common bandits¡¯, and Alexander and Layla regretted ordering him to do so. He seemed to be the only one unaffected by the subdued atmosphere. Compared to the others he was actually happy with the way the situation had progressed. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t care about the guard¡¯s lives, but the tradeoff didn¡¯t seem that bad. If what the captives had said was true, the brigand was made up of almost two hundred combatants. If Sir Andres had ¡®dealt¡¯ with them, he wasn¡¯t going to complain about the casualties. And that was how the rest of the journey had gone, until earlier that morning when Sir Andres announced that they would make it to the academy around noon. The mood after that quickly shifted, and everyone was visibly enlivened by the news. Even without the Sir Andres¡¯ warning, it was quite clear that they were closing in on Kenguard. The large expanse of trees on either side of the road that they were traveling on was beginning to give way to massive flat farmlands. Even the road was becoming far busier in the last few days. He was surprised by the number of people who actually traveled in Aleria, especially after his experience in the past weeks. They had even run into the occasional patrol from Kenguard, but those troops seemed more interested in keeping the farms secure than worrying about brigands like the one they had run into. It was nice to see Alexander and Layla in a better mood, they had been sitting in almost complete silence since Sir Andres had returned. Thankfully, the prospects of finally arriving at the academy broke the awkward silence. He still had a lot of questions that they hadn¡¯t answered yet. The last few days of silence crushed his plans of learning more about the academy before he was inevitably dumped off to be handled by some servant, but now that the mood had changed, he wasn¡¯t going to lose his chance to get more information before they arrived. Dante looked to Alexander, his preferred target for questioning, or just conversation in general for that matter. ¡°You told me that people in the Outer Edge region come from all over to go to the academy because it has resources that they wouldn¡¯t have otherwise, but why are you and Layla going?¡±The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Alexander shrugged. ¡°Training. Not the same as the rest of those attending the academy though, me and Layla were sent so that we could lead on our own and gain some experience. The academy is also the best place to get combat experience for us as well, but honestly, that¡¯s secondary. There are only few students at the academy that could match us.¡± ¡°How is the academy the best place to get combat experience?¡± Combat experience should be easy to acquire anywhere in Aleria, much less in the Outer region where they were from. Layla chose that moment to jump into their conversation. ¡°The academy actually incentivizes combat between students. In order to gain the largest benefit from the academy, you need to win duels and team fights in the arena to get credit. There is no other place where we could get the same amount combat experience against those who are around our strength.¡± Layla shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s not as though the constant fighting is safe, but there are certain restrictions on the fights to limit casualties.¡± What Layla said made sense, if you could constantly fight different people who are around your strength without losing your life, the experience would be invaluable. Unfortunately, she only mentioned limiting the casualties. It was still somewhat better¡­ but he would need to be careful before jumping into any fights headfirst. ¡°What do you mean by getting ¡®credit¡¯ by fighting in the arena?¡± The question made Alexander visibly excited. ¡°While meals and housing are free for the first semester, by the courtesy of House Calman, everything else has to be bought through credit. You can get access to food or medicine that gives world essence, multiple enchantments, and sometimes even access to dungeons through credit when they are available.¡± Layla saw the questioning look on his face and added to what Alexander had told him. ¡°It is a special enchantment that we learned about from travelers that came from the inner Aleria. It¡¯s pretty much a currency that can be carried around on a single card and is only useful at the academy, you¡¯ll see when you get to the academy later today. Apparently, in inner Aleria, something similar is the main form of currency.¡± The credit system itself was interesting. If the only way to get more credit was by winning fights, and it would aid you in gaining more world essence or better training, it seemed like a situation where the strong get stronger, and the weak getting weaker in contrast. The competition in the academy would be far fiercer than he had thought, and the fighting would be far more dangerous as a result. It also seemed that he might have wasted his time looting the archers so thoroughly. Layla had told him that the enchantments would be expensive, but it never occurred to him that she might have meant a different currency that he had never heard of. ¡°When you said that enchantments would be expensive to use at the academy, did you mean that it would cost more credit?¡± His question elicited a wince from Layla. ¡°No, the credits are easy for us to produce, but the essence crystals that power the stronger enchantments are not. We have to charge actual money to get a return on the massive cost associated with operating them. Truthfully, those enchantments are meant to only be used by wealthy nobles.¡± Her answer made sense to him, and it just meant that he would still need to find a way to earn money when he got to the academy. There was still one more thing that he was curious about though. ¡°You said there were travelers from inner Aleria in the Outer region?¡± His question was met with an awkward silence that Layla eventually broke. ¡°We get them occasionally, but recently there have been more along the border surrounding our territory. They are all surveyors who were scouting the Chaos region. Apparently, there is going to be a new campaign soon.¡± Dante froze. ¡°Did they say when the campaign would start?¡± Alexander frowned. ¡°No, but we should still have a few years¡­¡± All conversation came to a halt after that discussion. It was for good reason too, a new campaign into the Chaos region meant there would be a lot of deaths in the outer regions. The information meant that he would have to change his plans drastically. He was going to prepare for years before attempting to cross the Chaos region, but if he didn¡¯t make it to inner Aleria before the campaign started, his chance of surviving as a combatant that didn¡¯t belong to a powerful house was almost nonexistent. It wasn¡¯t until several quiet hours later that their carriage began to slow to what seemed like a crawl. A smile lit up on Alexander¡¯s face. ¡°Finally!¡± He immediately got up and shot out of the carriage. Layla¡¯s mood also improved drastically, she stood and stretched. ¡°This arduous trip is finally over.¡± They weren¡¯t the only ones happy to finally arrive at Kenguard, he was ready to finally see the academy. Stepping out of the carriage, Dante took in the startling scene around him. Every inch of the road was crowded with people. The reason their carriage was crawling forward was because it was stuck behind a long line of different wagons, carriages, and carts that led up towards a hill where they were cut off from view. Alexander, who was bubbling with excitement next to him, grabbed him and began dragging him towards the top of the hill. ¡°Wait until you see how amazing the academy is!¡± He was just as eager as Alexander, but nothing could have prepared him for the scene in front of him. What he had thought to be a hill was just the rim of a massive crater that had Kenguard sitting in the middle of it, the entire city must have been four times the size of Alazel. Dante just stood there, absorbing the scene in front of him for a moment, there must be tens of thousands of people inside of it. The entire city was bustling, looking almost as though someone had kicked over a giant anthill. It was filled with massive buildings and vast open fields that people were training in. He was trying to identify which of the massive building were the academy, but giving up, Dante turned to Alexander and Layla. ¡°Which building is the academy?¡± In response to his question, Alexander began to laugh. Layla waved her hand, motioning to the entirety of the city in front of him. ¡°Thatis the academy.¡± Chapter 15 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 15 It didn¡¯t seem conceivable to him that the entire city could be the academy. He was taken completely off-guard. ¡°Where is Kenguard?¡± ¡°Kenguard is still half a day¡¯s ride east of here.¡± Alexander was clearly enjoying his reaction. Dante stood on the edge of the crater, staring at the city in a new light. He began looking at all the massive buildings and open fields with a newfound interest, wondering each one¡¯s purpose. He hadn¡¯t been overly excited to stay at the academy before, just interested in using it to gain knowledge in the short term, but after seeing it for himself, his attitude couldn¡¯t help but change. Layla glanced over to Alexander. ¡°We need to go meet with Headmaster Tolli immediately.¡± She looked back to Dante. ¡°I¡¯ve already told Sir Andres to help you with your application, as well as find suitable accommodations.¡± That was convenient. Waving goodbye to Alexander and Layla, Dante went back to the carriage where his possessions and Sir Andres were. His possessions didn¡¯t account for much, just a bundle of items he took off of the archers after the attack as well as the weapons he had borrowed. He was still hoping to sell the looted items for a decent amount of money though. After taking them out of the storage compartment in the back of the carriage, he went to Sir Andres, who was giving orders to the rest of the guards that would be staying behind. It took Sir Andres a moment to notice him. ¡°Are you ready, boy?¡± Dante nodded somewhat hesitantly. He couldn¡¯t help but find Sir Andres intimidating after their sparring session. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s be off then.¡± Sir Andres dismounted his horse and gave the reins to the guard next to him, then began walking toward the academy. The man didn¡¯t say another word on the entire trip, and he wasn¡¯t going to complain about it in the slightest. He was too preoccupied taking in every detail of the academy anyway. Unlike Alazel, there were no walls surrounding its perimeter. It seemed like the massive crater combined with the thousands of combatants inside were deterrent enough. That wasn¡¯t to say that there weren¡¯t any guards patrolling though. It seemed like there were patrols everywhere, pushing through the bustling crowds that filled the streets, constantly on the lookout for anyone causing trouble. The people in the crowds themselves were almost all young as well, only occasionally would he see someone who wasn¡¯t in their teens or early twenties. The thing that took the most of his attention were the different types of buildings. There were some that he could tell their use, like buildings used for housing or different shops. But there were some he had never seen before, like massive towers and large circular shaped stadiums. As he trailed behind Sir Andres, he was busy pondering over how they might be used. After walking through the academy for around twenty minutes, Sir Andres turned into a relatively large building. It seemed to be far more extravagant than the others around it. The bricks on the outside were covered with white stone decorations, and although it was only one story, it was still larger than most of the others. After looking it over for a moment, Dante followed behind the knight. Stepping inside and looking around, he had never felt so out of place in his entire life. Even in Alazel, where no one would even talk to him unless in admonishment, he felt a greater sense of belonging. The room he walked into was completely filled with people that were standing in a line that snaked side to side as it slowly made its way towards the back of the room where an old man with powder white hair was filling out paperwork. The people themselves were what made him feel so out of place though. Each and every one of them were dressed in fine coats or dresses, openly showing their sigils that indicated which noble house they originated from. Not only that, but it seemed that they all had at least one retainer next to them. Dante stood by the door, in stark contrast to all of them. His tattered clothing, bundle of looted items, and strange appearance already collecting the glares of any of the nobles in the back of the line that noticed him. Sir Andres seemed to have none of his misgivings though. As soon as Dante stopped to stare at the nobles in the room, the knight put a hand on his shoulder and began shoving him toward the old man in the back. Dante looked on in horror as the two of them sliced through the snaking line undeterred. He, at the very least, tried to avoid bumping into any nobles in his path; but the Sir Andres just trampled over anyone who was standing in his way. By the time they finally made it to the old man, the entire room was in an uproar. Nobles all over the room were shouting in indignation at the fact that two rugged men had cut them in line, and the ones that Sir Andres had walked directly through were shouting the loudest. In a tone that brooked no nonsense, the old man addressed Sir Andres. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that you-¡± Sir Andres put his combatant¡¯s glove in the man¡¯s face, and as soon as the old man saw the black deer sigil that represented House Calman, he froze. ¡°I am Sir Andres of House Calman.¡± His voice carried over the crowd, and as soon as they realized what he had said the entire room went silent. Sir Andres indicated to Dante. ¡°I need you to enroll this boy, his name is Dante and he has a Warrior Classification. Put him in Housing District 1, he is a personal guest of House Calman.¡± Warrior Classification? There is no way I can fake being a Warrior Classification with how high my Agility and Dexterity are. Upon hearing that he was a guest of House Calman, the nobles in line were now looking at him with newfound interest.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Sir Andres looked down at him and saw the confused look on his face. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your Classification only indicates what type of tutelage you receive for free. Any melee Classifications learn world essence manipulation, which focuses on the basics of swordsmanship, unless they specialize in a different type of weapon.¡± The surrounding crowd¡¯s interest only increased at Sir Andres¡¯ words. He couldn¡¯t figure out what the knight was doing. First, he went out of his way to hide his Classification. Then, literally in the next breath, he pretty much told everyone within earshot that he wasn¡¯t a Warrior. Not only that, but the knight said that it wouldn¡¯t change the tutelage he would get for free, which meant that there were other things that he could learn at a price. There was still too much he didn¡¯t know about the academy. After his explanation to Dante, Sir Andres looked back to the old man questioningly. The old man began shuffling through his papers hurriedly, his no-nonsense attitude giving way to a flustered one. ¡°Of course, milord knight, just give me one moment and I¡¯ll have someone escort him to his quarters.¡± Sir Andres just nodded to him, then looked back to Dante. ¡°Your first lesson will be in yard one tomorrow morning, don¡¯t be late.¡± After that, the Sir Andres walked back through the crowd, which was now making way for him, and left the building. Dante just looked on in silence, he thought that the knight would at least stay with him until he was done enrolling. Don¡¯t be late? He didn¡¯t even give me a time¡­ The old man in front of him was still shuffling his papers furiously. ¡°Ah, found it!¡± Pulling a particular paper out of his stack, he grabbed a block of wood that was sitting in a pool of ink off his desk, then stamped the paper with it. After that, he opened a drawer under his desked and rummaged around for a moment before pulling out a key. ¡°Alright, everything seems to be in order.¡± He looked toward his left side where the attendants were standing. ¡°Hobert please escort...¡± He paused for a moment to look at the paper in front of him. ¡°Dante to his quarters. He will be staying in Housing District 1, building 43, floor 3.¡± The attendant, Hobert, grabbed the key from the old man and turned to Dante. ¡°Please follow me, my lord.¡± With that, the attendant turned walked back to where he had been standing previously and opened a door to the outside. Hobert stood there with the door open, gesturing to him. My lord? He wasn¡¯t sure how he felt about being addressed as ¡®my lord¡¯, even if it was just an attendant being courteous. His feelings concerning the nobles he had met thus far were complicated to say the least. Without wasting any more time, Dante followed the attendant out of the building. The nobles in line, who had been staring at the scene wide-eyed, watched him intently as he left. Their examining gazes were more than uncomfortable. As they walked, similarly to Sir Andres, the attendant didn¡¯t say a single word. Dante assumed that the man would engage in conversation with him if he asked him too, but he had no interest in talking to the attendant in the loud streets, even if he could answer some of his questions. The walk towards Housing District 1 wasn¡¯t far. If the streets weren¡¯t so crowded, it would have probably taken roughly ten minutes, but as they moved at the crawling pace of those around them, it took around half an hour. So far, he hadn¡¯t seen a street within the academy that wasn¡¯t crowded, but it was still around noon, so he held out hope the crowds would eventually die down. Housing District 1 itself stood far apart from the rest of the academy. The buildings were all identical, and ornately decorated with three floors each. Not only was the entire thing surrounded by a guarded gate, but the lawns in front of the buildings were also immaculately manicured. Thus far, it was the nicest area of the academy he had seen. Hobert lead him to the gate in front of Housing District 1 where two guards were standing watch. As soon as the two of them noticed them, Hobert gestured toward him. ¡°This is Dante, he is a new resident of building 43 floor 3. He is a personal guest of House Calman and doesn¡¯t have an identification card yet, so don¡¯t cause problems for him.¡± Without waiting for a response, Hobert motioned to Dante and walked through the gate. He was expecting the guards to be at least slightly upset at the treatment, but as soon as they heard he was a personal guest of House Calman, they just stood a little bit straighter and more attentive while they nodded at Hobert¡¯s words. Perhaps telling Layla and Alexander his Classification wasn¡¯t a mistake after all. Hobert then led him to building 43. It wasn¡¯t hard to find, as they walked through the gate buildings 25 and 26 were directly in front of them. All they had to do was continue walking down the line until they reached 43. Upon reaching building 43, Hobert led him up the stairs on the outside to the third story. ¡°Here you are my lord, Housing District 1 building 43 floor 3, your new residency.¡± Hobert opened the door with the key the old man had given him, then handed it to Dante and turned to leave. Seeing the man leave, he panicked. He had no idea whereanythingwas in the academy. He cleared his throat, catching the attention of the attendant. ¡°I have a few items that I need to sell, is there a place I could do that?¡± ¡°Yes, the trading district. But I would wait until your servant comes and brings your identification card before leaving Housing District 1, even though I warned the guards, they are completely incompetent.¡± Hobert¡¯s expression twisted slightly, as if just thinking of the guards was distasteful. ¡°What servant?¡± Hobert saw the confused look on Dante¡¯s face and hurriedly answered him. ¡°I¡¯m terribly sorry my lord, but retainers aren¡¯t allowed for students of the academy. Therefore, as a resident of Housing District 1, one will be provided to you by House Calman. They should be here within the hour with your identification card.¡± He actually thinks I have retainers? Dante glanced down at his tattered clothing, then back up at Hobert, trying to perceive whether or not the attendant was having fun at his expense. Unable to tell, he dismissed him. ¡°Thank you for your help.¡± After dismissing the attendant, Dante entered the third floor of the house, now full of excitement. He had rarely even seen the inside of any home, much less had one that he was staying in himself. Stepping inside, he was blown away. The initial room was fully furnished; drapes over the windows, carpets, two couches, and even a circular wooden table with six chairs surrounding it. Even though the walls and floors were just made out of standard wood, the room looked amazing. There were three doors that seemed to connect to adjoining rooms, and Dante immediately ran to inspect them. The first door to the left opened to a small kitchen, it was fully equipped with enchanted equipment, the cost of enchantments must have been ridiculous. There were other things inside as well, like cutting boards, knives, pots, and pans. Dante looked at each of them closely, but he had never used any of the items before and didn¡¯t know how to evaluate their quality. He didn¡¯t see many other items of note, so turned and left. After leaving the kitchen, Dante checked inside the other door that was on the left side of the room. It was a bedroom. He didn¡¯t even notice anything else in the room, just the bed. In his entire life, the most comfortable thing he had slept on was a bundle of rough blankets. Looking at the full mattress and plush pillows in front of him, he was speechless. Dante slowly walked up to it. Reaching down, he began feeling the firm, yet soft mattress and the cloud-like pillows. Immediately giving up on any thoughts of searching the rest of his new living quarters, Dante crawled on the bed and went to sleep. Chapter 16 Dante¡¯s Immortality - Chapter 16 Herman Herman was walking through the crowded streets of the academy with a rare smile on his expressionless face. I am finally going to leave this piece of shit. As soon as he arrived at the academy, he was ready to drop Greggory off and leave, but the registration process took an entire three days. Three days of Greggory¡¯s incessant complaining and begging. That was all behind him though. They had finally finished registration, and he would be able to have some peace and quiet at long last. ¡°Idemandto be taken home immediately.¡± Greggory was out of breath and panting behind him, trying to keep up with his rushed pace. Herman continued plowing through anyone who got in his way, determined to finally drop Greggory off. ¡°Aren¡¯t you listening to me? They are trying to stick me in Housing District 3! Don¡¯t they know I¡¯m of noble blood? It was bad enough that they didn¡¯t put me in Housing District 1, but not even Housing District 2? I refuse!¡± Instead of turning back to answer Greggory, he just increased his pace. The reason their registration had taken three days was because the utter moron trailing behind him haddemandedto register for Housing District 1 on the first day, which is where the minor nobles from the Outer region reside. After wasting their entire day, and despiteknowinghe should be in Housing District 3; Greggory then demanded they wait in the line for Housing District 2, which was meant for the largest noble houses in the Outer Edge region. After yet another day wasted, Herman dragged him into the line for Housing District 3, and now he would finally be rid of him. Greggory snorted at Herman¡¯s silence. ¡°These idiots can¡¯t recognize arealnoble when they see one.¡±
Mia Mia walked towards Housing District 1. It was challenging to keep the limp out of her step, but she managed it. Her body was in an incredible amount of pain, Layla didn¡¯t give her time to get healed properly after arriving at the academy, just told her to cover her wounds and get to her new assignment. Taking care of a random boy that they found, is this what I¡¯ve been reduced to? Taking care of him wasn¡¯t the problem, it washowLayla wanted her to do it that gave her misgivings. She was being treated like some common whore¡­ It didn¡¯t even make sense, none of it made sense. She couldn¡¯t understand why it was so important for her to get so close to someone they picked up in the Outer Edge region¡­ or why they wanted her to get that close. She glanced down at his identification card. Name: Dante Classification(s): WarriorDid you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Living Quarters: Housing District 1 ¨C Building 43 ¨C Floor 3 Arena Rank: Bronze (0/25 Credit Earned) Arena Team: None Arena Team Rank: N/A Credit: 0 It was hard to believe she was going through all of this effort for someone with a mere Warrior Classification. As Mia approached the front gate, the guards standing watch noticed her. ¡°Residents and authorized personnel only.¡± Mia flashed the two men a winning smile and pulled out her new identification card. ¡°I¡¯m a new servant for Dante. He is located in building 43, floor 3.¡± As soon as the two guards heard the name Dante, they quickly moved aside. ¡°Of course, our apologies for interrupting you.¡± Interesting. It seemed like the guards were already familiar with him. Hopefully that was a good sign. She walked through the gate and immediately headed toward building 43. It didn¡¯t take long before she was outside of what would be her new living quarters. Mia took a deep breath, not sure what she was expecting. Praying to the Goddess he was, at the very least, not a disgusting slob. She knocked softly on the door, ready to meet her new ¡®master¡¯. No answer. Mia knocked again, louder this time. Still no answer. Great. She was told that he would be waiting for her in his quarters. As if her day hadn¡¯t been bad enough before she lost the commoner that she was supposed to be seducing. She didn¡¯t even know how she was supposed to find him, not only is the academy massive, but she had no idea what he even looked like. Mia couldn¡¯t help but release a groan. I might as well just wait for him inside and hope he finds his way back. She pulled the spare key she had been given out of her pocket and tried to unlock the door. Not only did he leave, but he left the door unlocked. Her opinion of the commoner was steadily falling. As Mia pushed through the doorway, she did a doubletake. The door to the servant¡¯s room was open, and he was inside, laying onherbed. Mia stood there, eye twitching, staring at him in indignation.Shewas supposed to be seducing him. Somehow, in her mind, that was bearable. Seeing him laying acrossherbed,waitingfor her, was revolting. A few deep breaths later, she felt like she had her emotions somewhat under control. Stepping slowly, Mia walked into the servant¡¯s room. To her relief, he seemed to be sound asleep. The commoner, or Dante, looked strange to say the least. His silver hair and skinny, yet tall frame with tattered clothing made him look nightmarish. She could see why Layla would take an interest in him, based on his appearance alone, but she still didn¡¯t understand whysheneeded to get closer to him. She walked over to the other side of the bed so that she could check his face. Surprisingly, not bad. His face was somewhat handsome, slightly gaunt, but it would fill out if he ate more. It tied in nicely with his strong brow. Altogether, his appearance would be best described as charismatic, at least if he ate more¡­ and took a bath. When was the last time he bathed? Mia was still staring at his face when his eyes flicked open, and immediately recoiled. In the name of the Goddess, his eyes are red! Mia fell down against the wall behind her, staring at him in shock. The commoner sat up, seeing her fall to the floor a hint of panic flashed across his face. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Then he reached down to help her up. As he tried to pull her up, the injuries in her body flared. She grimaced in pain before she could stop herself. This time, the boy recoiled, looking hurt at her reaction to his touch. Mia groaned internally. I completely botched this introduction¡­ maybe I can still save it though. Mia cleared her throat, and chose to go in a direction he would enjoy more. She put on her most innocent expression. ¡°Why were you sleeping in my bed?¡± The commoner looked at the bed for a long moment, then back at her. ¡°This is your bed?¡± He looked completely devastated. ¡°Does that mean I can¡¯t sleep in it?¡± Mia could feel her cheeks heat up, and knew her face must have been crimson¡­ He didn¡¯t know it was her bed? Clearly, she had made a slight misjudgment in her approach. ¡°This is the servant¡¯s bedroom, yours is on the other side of the building.¡± He breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Oh, is there a bed in my room?¡± What kind of question is that? Mia gave him her best smile. ¡°Of course there is.¡± His devastated expression was immediately gone, and he almost looked happy as he rushed out of the room. Thank the Goddess. The entire situation seemed to turn around on the realization that there was a bed in his room¡­ She didn¡¯t understand but decided not to question it for now. Letting out a relieved sigh, Mia followed him out of the room. Chapter 17 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 17 Dante practically ran out of the room, trying to get away from the person who he assumed was the servant that Hobert had mentioned. He didn¡¯t think their first meeting had gone very well. Actually, he was fairly certain that she hated him. It wasn¡¯t his fault, it was the beds. He had never slept so well in his life, it was completely disorienting. He couldn¡¯t even remember where he was or what he was doing when he had first awoken. As he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. Fair skinned, with midnight black hair. Her pouty lips, petite nose, and thin eyebrows accented the delicate features on her face. She was absolutely stunning. The only person that he had even met that could compare to her would have been Layla, but even though the girl in front of him couldn¡¯t have been more than twenty, she gave off a mature air that Layla couldn¡¯t compare with. He only had a moment to look at her. Blinking away the sleepiness in his eyes, while wondering whether or not he was still asleep and in a dream, the girl in front of him suddenly stumbled and fell back against the wall behind her. He started to panic and began stuttering out an apology. For what, he didn¡¯t know. He just had a sudden urge to help the girl who had fallen in front of him. That was when reality came crashing down around him. As soon as he touched her, she grimaced. She tried to hide it, but it was noticeable. Somehow, in his disorientation, he had forgotten how much his appearance frightened and angered others. As quickly as he could, he backed off of her in an attempt to give her space, but things only went downhill from there. After the revulsion was gone, she looked up at him with a blank, yet slightly confused expression. ¡°Why were you sleeping in my bed?¡± He turned around to look at the bed for a moment. ¡°This is your bed?¡± The realization that the bed wasn¡¯t his was emotionally crushing. ¡°Does that mean I can¡¯t sleep in it?¡± He didn¡¯t realize how that had sounded, or the implications that could be behind it, until after he said it. The girl became so angry that her entire face turned crimson. He had no idea what to do, but was relieved when she took control of the conversation. ¡°This is the servant¡¯s bedroom, yours is on the other side of the building.¡± Dante let out an involuntary sigh. He was flustered from the girl¡¯s looks alone, but her anger was completely destroying any confidence he might have had in rectifying the situation. ¡°Oh, is there a bed in my room?¡± Stupid. Of course there is¡­ She smiled at him, as though he were an idiot. ¡°Of course there is.¡± Thrilled to finally have an excuse to leave, Dante practically ran to inspect the bed inhisroom. And now, he was almost positive she hated him. She most likely thought he was an idiot as well. If she was a servant for other nobles, there would be no way for him to match her expectations. After running into the bedroom that was supposedly his, he didn¡¯t see much of a difference from the servant¡¯s room. The room itself was roughly twice the size and filled with the additional furniture of a nightstand and two dressers. To his relief, the bed was the same. He had fallen in love with the other one at first sight, and wasn¡¯t sure if he would have been willing to give it up. There was another door to the right, and he was about to go and see what was behind it when the servant walked in behind him and cleared her throat. Dante turned to see her giving him a formal, slight bow. ¡°I think we got off to a rough start. My name is Mia, and I am the servant assigned to you by House Calman. Here is your identification card.¡± Mia handed him the identification card, and he looked over it carefully. A few things caught his attention. The Warrior Classification on it was as he thought it would be, and the credits that Alexander and Layla had mentioned were also on the card. The only thing he really didn¡¯t understand was the arena rank. ¡°I am Dante, it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you. Do you know what the arena rank on my identification card is, and what it means?¡± Mia seemed pleased with his normal question. ¡°Your rank determines both the difficulty of your fights in the arena, as well as the rewards you will get from winning said fights. Your rank is bronze, the beginner rank. After bronze, there is silver, gold, and platinum. Most of the older academy students are actually in gold or platinum because ranks are based off total credits earned, not total credits possessed.¡± That made sense, if he went into the arena and fought some of the older students, he would most likely get demolished due to his lack of combat experience. It may be different if he could use his Blink ability, but by just relying on his swordsmanship, he wasn¡¯t much of a combatant. Asking questions that Mia could answer seemed to be far easier than having a regular conversation with her. ¡°What is behind this door?¡± He pointed to the door inside his room, it was the only place in his new living quarters he hadn¡¯t checked yet. ¡°It¡¯s a bathroom, used for relieving yourself as well asbathing.¡± Mia looked at him skeptically, as if prepared to answer his question on what bathing was. ¡°In Housing District 1 all of the bathrooms are equipped with modern enchantments. That includes both heating and waste disposal, so there is no need to use a chamber pot.¡± Dante¡¯s eyes lit up at the news that the bathroom was fully enchanted. He was itching to go and look but had more important things to take care of, the bathroom could always come later. ¡°Is there a place in the academy where I can sell some spare items that I picked up?¡± He really wanted to get rid of the items he had taken off of the archers, as well as try out the combat simulation enchantments that Alexander had told him about. Mia nodded. ¡°There is, but we don¡¯t have time today. It¡¯s almost time for curfew, and we still haven¡¯t picked up your academy uniform.¡± She indicated toward his tattered clothing. ¡°Curfew?¡± The idea of a curfew was somewhat troublesome. There were a few things that he had wanted to get done before he actually started swordsmanship training the following morning, top of the list was getting his shoulder properly patched up. ¡°Yes, the guards will begin stopping anyone out after dark, its fine if you have somewhere that you need to be, but they won¡¯t allow you to wander aimlessly¡­ Of course, since you¡¯re a resident of Housing District 1, I doubt they would dare to cause problems for you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure how long I was asleep, would we have time to get my uniform and get my shoulder fixed before my Swordsmanship training tomorrow?¡± Mia looked at both of his shoulders for a moment, unable to see the arrow wound hidden under his shirt. ¡°Did you get injured?¡± Dante nodded. ¡°About a week ago I took an arrow through the shoulder during an ambush. I got it patched up, but it¡¯s still too painful to fully use my left arm in a fight.¡± Mia smiled at him in delight. ¡°Of course, we can head to the academy healers first. Their services are free for any students within the academy, and you will get the best ones since you¡¯re a resident of Housing District 1.¡± Dante looked at her for a moment, eye twitching. Why was she so happy when I told her I took an arrow through the shoulder in an ambush? Does she really hate me that much, or was she just happy that there are academy healers who can help me¡­? ¡°Alright, lets head to the healers first.¡± Mia nodded and walked toward the front door, holding it for him. ¡°I¡¯ll lead the way to the hospital, my lord.¡± He followed her out. As he passed, Dante inspected Mia¡¯s facial expression, trying to determine whether or not she was resentful when addressing him as ¡®my lord¡¯. He couldn¡¯t tell, but he supposed it didn¡¯t really matter. ¡°There is no need to address me as if I am a noble, just call me Dante.¡± Mia just nodded. ¡°Of course, Dante.¡± As they walked out of the Housing District 1¡¯s main gate, Mia visibly hesitated for a moment, then a look of determination filled her face, and she snatched his hand before leading him toward the healers. He didn¡¯t realize that just touching him would make her so uncomfortable. It made him far more self-conscious about his appearance, but at the same time, he appreciated that she was trying. As they headed towards the healers, he noticed that there were far fewer people in the streets, which was a relief. When he arrived at noon, he must have caught the afternoon rush. Curious, Dante looked up and checked the location of the sun so that he could estimate the time. There were only a few hours left in the day, he had slept far longer than he thought. As they began to walk, he noticed that they were getting closer to some of the large stadiums that he had seen earlier. Now that he had a servant who seemed knowledgeable about the academy itself, he didn¡¯t hold back his questions. ¡°What are those large stadiums for?¡± Mia didn¡¯t miss a step, answering him without even looking back. ¡°Those are the arena stadiums, in total there are eight. One for each of the four ranks in both team battles and solo fights.¡± That was interesting, it seemed that the team fights had the same four ranks as the solo fights. They treaded down the stone brick road until they were practically outside of the largest stadium. Just before they reached it, Mia turned into a separate, smaller building to the side. As Dante walked in, his senses were immediately overloaded. The sounds of people screaming in pain was the first thing that hit him as Mia opened the door, but the smell came immediately after. It was sterile, yet at the same time smelled similar to a freshly burned corpse. He recoiled, completely unprepared for the mixed smell and grating sound of the screams. Mia, who was holding the door open for him, just rolled her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sure none of them will die, a team battle must have just ended. We need to hurry or we won¡¯t get your uniform before curfew.¡± That screaming is the result of a team battle? Although hesitant, Dante followed her in. There were four people getting treatment within the building. It turned out that the screaming was coming from a single person. Seeing him, Dante stopped, staring at the screaming boy¡¯s arm. Or what was once an arm, the thing that was connected to his shoulder looked like a shriveled piece of charcoal. Mia seemed correct, they weren¡¯tgoingto die. While two others seemed relatively fine, there was a corpse laying on one of the treating beds, left completely alone. The man, who was clearly dead, couldn¡¯t have been more than 18 and had a gaping wound in his neck that was leaking blood. A neck wound¡­ That seems like it was intentional. After noticing their presence, a middle-aged woman with a kind smile walked up to the two of them. ¡°How can I help you?¡± Mia immediately took charge, which was good because he was still staring at the corpse and charred arm. ¡°My lord has an arrow wound that he needs to be healed.¡± She said while flashing her identification card, which showed her status as his servant. The woman motioned toward him. ¡°Of course, right this way dear.¡± The middle-aged woman didn¡¯t seem to care much for titles or propriety at the very least. Then again, he didn¡¯t exactly look like much of a lord at the moment. As Dante went to follow her, Mia grabbed his attention behind him. ¡°I have something I need to take care of, if I¡¯m not back by the time you¡¯re done, wait for me.¡± Before he could even reply, Mia darted off. Dante just shrugged and followed the woman leading him. She took him into a smaller room, which was empty. ¡°A healer will be here shortly.¡± Only a few moments after the woman left, a wizened old man walked through the door. ¡°How might I be of service, my lord?¡± ¡®My lord¡¯ may just be something he needed to adjust to, he couldn¡¯t correct everyone, and even if he did it would only make him look bad. Wasting no time, Dante pulled off his shirt and indicated to his shoulder. The wound was beginning to heal, but was threatening to reopen if he overused the limb. ¡°While I was traveling to the academy I took an arrow to the shoulder. We did some rough patchwork, but it¡¯s still not healed properly, and I have training in the morning.¡± ¡°Very well, just give me a moment, and I¡¯ll have it fixed good as new.¡± The old man stepped closer to Dante and put his hand on the wound. At the healer¡¯s touch, an itching sensation seemed to dig into the wound, constantly traveling deeper into it. Dante watched the healer closely, trying to perceive how he was doing the healing.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. The old man noticed his staring. ¡°Not to worry my lord. I have the Cleric Classification, and am quite adept at healing.¡± The old man seemed to misunderstand his prying eyes, so he backed off. He reasoned that there would be plenty of opportunities to watch a healer first hand in the near future, given that he would be fighting in the arena and the healing itself was free. The old man took his hand off of his shoulder, and the wound was gone. In its place was a small silvery scar that looked like a dot. Dante looked the shoulder over for a moment, pleased, but noticed that he was feeling slightly drained after it was finished. ¡°Excuse me, I feel slightly tired after you healed my shoulder. Is that normal?¡± The old man snorted. ¡°I must be losing my touch...¡± He was surprised by the healer¡¯s reaction, the healer almost seemed angry. ¡°How tired a patient is after a healing depends on two factors. The first is how much mana they use. The second, and most important, is their control in mana manipulation. Given how light of an injury you had, you shouldn¡¯t have felt it at all, satisfied?¡± The healer let out a deep breath, as if calming himself. ¡°Your shoulder is healed. You may go,my lord.¡± With that, the now disgruntled healer left the room. What was that? Things had changed quickly. Somehow, his question seemed to thoroughly anger the healer. He would need to find a way to apologize to the old man. A healer was not someone he would want to be angry with him. Regardless, he got some useful information. It seemed healing¡¯s proficiency depended on mana manipulation, he might be able to make his Rebirth of the Revenant passive usable if he learned more about it. Following the old healer, Dante walked back out to the main room and waited for Mia. It had to have been at least half an hour before she reappeared, walking through the front door of the building. It seemed that his absence was rather good for her mood. Compared to earlier, she looked far happier, the change was actually shocking. She is that happy after leaving me for less than an hour? She hates being with me that much¡­? Mia was practically bouncing with each step as she came up to him. ¡°Ready to get your uniform?¡± Dante just let out a sigh and nodded. Her head tilted slightly in confusion. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I think the healer hates me.¡±And he¡¯s not the only one. That didn¡¯t clear up her confusion at all, so he elaborated. ¡°I asked him why I felt tired after he healed my shoulder, and he seemed mad when he explained it to me.¡± Mia began to laugh and quickly covered her mouth. ¡°Of course he hates you. He thought you purposefully insulted him, but probably answered your question anyways because he thinks you¡¯re a noble that he can¡¯t offend.¡± Now he was confused. ¡°Why would he think that?¡± ¡°Every noble house employs at least one healer, and even commoners should know how healing works. You implied that he was inferior to the healer your house employs, while simultaneously making him tell you why he was inferior.¡± Her explanation just made Dante heave another sigh, this time more of a groan. It was hard enough to behave appropriately when people didn¡¯t have any expectations of him, but now they expected him to have the full knowledge of a noble as well. Dante turned around, preparing to go back into the hospital and explain himself to the healer, when Mia tugged on his shirt. ¡°You can apologize later, we still need to get your uniform.¡± Dante gave a defeated nod and allowed Mia to pull him out of the building. As they were walking, he noticed that the others around him weren¡¯t wearing similar clothing. Curious, he asked Mia. ¡°Why do I need a uniform so badly? No one else is wearing one.¡± ¡°Of course they aren¡¯t. The semester doesn¡¯t officially start until tomorrow, so until then, they would prefer to wear their own clothes.¡± That was understandable, but he had no idea what a semester was. ¡°What do you mean by ¡®semester¡¯?¡± ¡°A semester is just how long the academy¡¯s classes last. There are four of them in a year, broken up into roughly three months a piece.¡± That basically meant he would only have three months to learn swordsmanship in the world essence manipulation class Sir Andres had signed him up for, which wasn¡¯t nearly long enough. ¡°A class only lasts three months? How do you sign up for more?¡± ¡°Yes, a class only last 3 months. Your world essence manipulation class will only last for three months as well. The only way to get more classes in the next quarter is to buy them with credits. If you do not have any classes when a quarter starts, you will be evicted from the academy. It¡¯s a good way for the academy to sift through combatants. Those who can¡¯t win fights in the arena are kicked out. To stay for another quarter, you will need to win at least 13 fights in three months, or you won¡¯t be able to afford even the cheapest classes. It¡¯s the reason over half of the academy¡¯s students are about to start the first quarter. Many either don¡¯t earn enough credits, or are unwilling to stay for the second semester.¡± That wasn¡¯t good news, he had been seriously second-guessing the arena since he saw the corpse with its throat slit in the hospital, now it seemed he had no choice. Just staying in the academy was secondary though. Taking more classes, like mana manipulation, which seemed important from the healer¡¯s words earlier, was his real motivation. That knowledge could prove invaluable and wasn¡¯t something that he could just pick up through trial and error. His thoughts were cut off as Mia turned into a building on the side of the road. Surprisingly, it was almost directly across the street from Housing District 1. He had been expecting to just pick up a uniform in his general size, perhaps used, from a storage shed somewhere. What he saw when he walked into the building with Mia was the complete opposite. A perky woman standing in the middle of the room was holding a pin cushion in her mouth and seemed to be torturing a noble that was around his age. The seamstress was scrambling over the noble with different patterns and sizes of cloth, making measurements and checking styles while also managing to accidentally stick him with a needle every couple of seconds. It was easy to tell, because every time she did, he would let out a soft whimper. Even though he felt bad for him, he couldn¡¯t help but feel some amusement at the noble¡¯s plight. Dante watched, mesmerized as the woman seemed to dance over him, slowly pinning more and more cloth to him until it looked like he was actually wearing clothing. After that, she stopped, took a few steps back, then rubbed her chin and nodded. ¡°Not bad, not bad.¡± Stepping forward, the seamstress began plucking out all the needles she placed in the cloth, causing it to fall off as she collected them one by one. Then, taking out a piece of paper, she started to write down different measurements. That was amazing. Her agility and dexterity must have been at least twice the average at 20 a piece to move that quickly and precisely. As the woman finished scribbling on her paper she smiled and shooed away the noble, who was now standing in his undergarments, away. ¡°Next.¡± The noble, who was covered in small puncture wounds from the needle, picked up the clothes that he left on the floor. As soon as he did, he seemed to regain his confidence, and began cursing the woman as he got dressed and left. Dante hopped into the line that was formed to the side of the shop. It wasn¡¯t really much of a line, there were only three other people in it, but he was eager to watch the seamstress¡¯s masterful work again. The next noble in line, clearly hesitant, stepped slowly toward the seamstress. He looked almost afraid of the woman. Dante soon found out why, although the new noble she was working on continuously flinched, he didn¡¯t get stuck by her needle a single time. When she finished and shooed him away, instead of cursing her like the other noble, the boy heaved a sigh of relief and picked up his clothes. Lesson learned, don¡¯t piss off a seamstress. The next person in line was a girl, the seamstress led her into the back where she could undress and not be seen by prying eyes. It was somewhat of a disappointment, watching the woman work was entertaining, and he had nothing to do as he and Mia just sat quietly in the back of the line. While they were waiting in the line, loud voices arose from the doorway of the shop. Three nobles walked in, unattended and full of swagger. They were quite an interesting trio, one was tall and lanky, another soft and pudgy, almost like a more refined Greggory. The last one held his attention though. He had never seen anyone more ¡®perfect¡¯. His short cropped pitch-black hair and cultured features were matched with a seemingly perfect build, even his voice was perfectly masculine and filled with self-confidence. The only thing he could find wrong with the noble was his eyes, they just felt¡­ sinister. Dante quickly turned away before they noticed him, and Mia didn¡¯t react to the voices at all. She just ignored them without checking to see who it was. As soon as the person who was ahead of them in line saw who had just entered the shop, he immediately left the line and walked out. There was no hesitation, and he didn¡¯t look back. That can¡¯t be a good sign¡­ Determined to not catch their attention, Dante just stood still in line. He didn¡¯t say a word to Mia, and he didn¡¯t move, not even an inch. By the time the seamstress finally came back, the three nobles behind them were talking about how enjoyable killing in the arena was, and he was in the middle of praying to the Goddess that the seamstress would hurry up. He had never been so relieved to see anyone in his life. The girl who had just finished getting her measurements taken, took one look at the room, then rushed out of the shop as quickly as she could. ¡°Next.¡± Dante stepped up to the seamstress. ¡°Undress to your undergarments.¡± He couldn¡¯t understand the seamstress¡¯s personality, she seemed so perky, yet so uncaring. He began to take off his clothes, not touching his glove, which seemed to grab the woman¡¯s attention. ¡°Will you be keeping your glove on?¡± The question took him slightly off-guard, but he nodded. He had no intention of ever removing the glove. ¡°Is that a problem?¡± The seamstress shook her head. ¡°No. But House Calman doesn¡¯t allow students to use decorative combatant¡¯s gloves during the academy¡¯s semester. You can where your glove, but I¡¯ll need to cover over the decoration on it.¡± She motioned to the dragon symbol on it. ¡°Now strip.¡± Dante stripped as she told him to, and was preparing to have his measurement taken when booming laughter filled the room. That ¡®perfect¡¯ boy from earlier was now pointing at him and laughing. ¡°Look at thatskeleton, I¡¯ve seen chickens with more meat on them.¡± Dante looked down at his protruding ribs, he had actually put on quite a bit of weight since he left Alazel. Still, he was far skinnier than what could be considered average. The other two picked up the laughter and started to throw out insults of their own like it was a competition. The seamstress didn¡¯t seem to mind, just began taking his measurements at her quick pace. The pudgy one was the quickest to speak up. ¡°He looks like some beggar that was picked up off the streets.¡± The taller one shook his head. ¡°Even the beggars eat far better than this rotting carcass.¡± It didn¡¯t matter how fast seamstress was going, it felt like an eternity. Even if he was used to being insulted, the nobles before him seemed to carry more weight with their words than the random shopkeepers or priest in Alazel. Even Greggory¡¯s words never carried much meaning to them. Still, he endured silently, allowing the seamstress to do her work. The three of them were relentless, never stopping and only becoming more vicious as time went on. They didn¡¯t stay on his frame, they touched a variety of issues, mostly just his appearance though. From the scars left by the wolf that raked down his ribs, to his silver hair and red eyes. At some point they finally began to make fun of who his parents were, giving him some reprieve. The whore mother and bastard father jokes didn¡¯t bother him in the slightest, he had never met his mother or father. ¡°I bet the only way to make someone asfuckedlooking as you, was if your whore of a mother fucked some foul creature.¡± The pudgy was barely able to get the words out around his laughter. They are really reaching now¡­ He was just starting to feel better about the entire situation when he saw movement in the periphery of his vision and glanced over. Mia wasshaking, obviously trying to hold in her laughter. For some reason, Mia¡¯s reaction cut deeper emotionally than any of the insults the other three had thrown at him. Far deeper. He knew that she didn¡¯t like him, but¡­ He sighed. It doesn¡¯t matter anyways. He could feel his face flaring crimson in his embarrassment. Instead of looking up, at the four people who were laughing at him, Dante looked down at his feet until the seamstress was finished. ¡°Next.¡± The seamstress shooed him away. As the ¡®perfect¡¯ noble stepped forward. Dante grabbed his rugged clothing and got dressed as quickly as he could, wanting to get out of the shop as quickly as possible. Dante quickly picked up his clothing and quickly left. As he headed for the door, Mia in tow, he could hear the boy¡¯s shouting from behind. ¡°Ouch! You just stuck me with that damn needle you stupid bitch! If it happens again, I¡¯ll have you sold to the brothels.¡± After a brief pause, there was another curse and more shouting. Dante couldn¡¯t help but give a slight smile, at least one person hadn¡¯t thought the insults were funny. They took the short walk across the street to Housing District 1 in silence. Mia dealt with the guards as they walked through the gate. She seemed to be considerate of his somber mood at the very least, not troubling him with meaningless conversation. He actually appreciated Mia¡¯s effort. It didn¡¯t take a genius to see that she disliked him, but she did her best not to show it. As they walked through the door she looked at him with a sympathetic expression. ¡°You should probably take a bath, your training tomorrow is at first light. There are spare clothes to sleeping inside of your wardrobe, and the academy¡¯s seamstresses should have your uniforms done by the morning.¡± Dante just nodded back to her and turned to his room. Not in the mood to waste time, he went straight to the bathroom. What he saw baffled him, there were tubes everywhere connecting to everything. The bathroom seemed to have everything; a bathtub, a small bowl in front of the mirror, and even a chamber pot in the shape of a chair. The entire bathroom was amazing and each tube was covered in enchantments that activated various functions. Dante focused on the bathtub. He wasn¡¯t in the mood to play with the enchantments, and was determined to bathe and get to sleep. He walked up to it, inspecting it. There were only two enchantments, and one he recognized. It was almost the exact same as the fire stone he had taken from Isaac, but slightly altered. Not sure what the other did, he began to slowly channel world essence into it to test it. Water began to trickle out of a tube that emptied into the bathtub. Curious, he channeled world essence into the fire enchantment, the water that trickled out instantly became warmer. Pleased with the enchantments¡¯ usefulness, he determined the heat he wanted the water to be, then began filling the tub. It was only a few minutes later that Dante was relaxing in the warm, steamy water of the bathtub. He planned on actually washing himself, but for the moment was content to relax. The feeling that the warm water gave him almost rivaled the pleasure he had experienced when he had slept in the bed earlier. Thinking about the bed he would soon be sleeping in, Dante gave a pleased sigh. At that moment, he was interrupted by a soft knock at the door. What could Mia possibly need? ¡°Yes?¡± The door opened and Dante jumped to cover himself as best he could in the clear water. What in the hell¡­ Mia came in with a towel,onlya towel. She had the slight tinge of a blush on her face and she was looking down at the floor to the side of the room as if embarrassed that she was there. ¡°Would you like some help getting washed?¡± Dante stared at her blankly, there was definitely double meaning in her tone. He didn¡¯t understand what was happening, she clearly looked uncomfortable and he couldn¡¯t understand why she would come to him of her own initiative. Is this what is expected of a noble¡¯s servant? The thought disgusted him. ¡°No Mia, but thank you for your consideration.¡± He saw a hint of relief flash across her eyes, but it was instantly gone. ¡°As you wish.¡± Mia bowed slightly while tightly gripping the towel that was draped around her, then turned to leave the bathroom. Dante watched as she turned to exit the room, he had some mixed feelings regarding Mia. Even if it was just her job, he was thankful for how hard she was trying. It must be hard to go from dealing with proper nobles to someone who looked and acted like him. ¡°Mia.¡± She looked back, slightly startled, as if almost scared that he was going to reconsider her offer. ¡°Thank you.¡± After hesitating for a moment, Mia nodded and walked out of the bathroom. Dante relaxed back into the warm water of the bathtub. Even if she didn¡¯t want to, having someone help take care of him felt¡­ nice.
Mia Mia walked back into her servant¡¯s room, the hidden limp no longer in her step after getting herself healed earlier. Her heart was racing. She had in no way expected Dante¡¯s reaction. It was almost funny, it seemed like the only man in her entire life that she had met with a shred of decency was the one she was supposed to be seducing. The entire thing was stupid, she had thought that she could make him feel better by doing¡­that. For some reason that was the only way she could think of to console him. Mia clenched her fist. The way that Dante had reacted to those three shit headnobles was heart wrenching. And all she could do while it was happening was sit in a corner and shake in rage. It had been years since she had an urge to go against her orders, but after what happened earlier, she truly wanted to kill them¡­ Chapter 18 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 18 He awoke to someone nudging him on his side. ¡°Hurry up, you¡¯re going to be late.¡± Dante released a groan, leaving the soft bed was the last thing on his mind¡­ but he couldn¡¯t be late for training. Filling himself with determination, Dante slumped himself off the side of the bed to roll onto the floor, the hardwood floor would make waking up far more manageable. He was having a hard time seeing how a bed was even useful, he only felt more tired after sleeping in it. That said, he didn¡¯t consider giving it up. Opening his eyes, he saw Mia standing over him with an impatient expression. ¡°I already picked up your uniform.¡± She shoved the clothing into his arms. ¡°This one is your combat uniform. Get dressed. You have less than an hour until the sun will start to rise.¡± Still laying on the floor and half asleep, Dante nodded back to her. Even after getting up, it took him ten full minutes to get dressed. Even while utilizing the help of the mirror in the bathroom and calling in Mia to aid him occasionally. The combat uniform had too many straps that he had no idea what to do with. After some thorough testing, and making several adjustments, he felt like he had it right. Looking at himself in the mirror, he thought the combat uniform looked rather good. It consisted of a mostly-leather vest with a shoulder guard covering his left shoulder, and a loose covering on his right shoulder that would allow high mobility of his arm. Several different armguard pieces covered the entirety of his left arm, and when equipped looked like a type of bracer. The pants were somewhat standard, yet highly functional and also seemed to focus on mobility. The clothing itself was almost entirely black, and the black deer sigil of House Calman could barely be seen engraved on the center of the chest piece. There was also a thin belt-like piece of leather that Mia wrapped around his glove to cover the red dragon ¡®decoration¡¯. It strapped on comfortably, and didn¡¯t move or slide when he waved his arm around to test it. He had never worn anything that was made for him before, and found the way that the clothing fit him to be amazing. It was incredibly comfortable and took away hardly any of his mobility. If there was one thing he wanted to change in his reflection, it would have been himself. The uniform only seemed to emphasize his thin frame. In Alazel his lack of weight never really bothered him, he was just happy to not starve. Things had changed since arriving at the academy though, he already didn¡¯t fit due to his hair and eyes in, he didn¡¯t need another reason to stand out. Not to mention his experience from the night before¡­ Remembering Alexander saying that food was provided free by the academy, he made a mental note to eat more. Before heading out, he decided to open his Classification tab in his Status. He should have gotten some world essence from taking out the archers in the ambush, but hadn¡¯t had an opportunity to use it while traveling with Alexander and Layla. World Essence waiting to be assigned: 825 Chronomancer lvl 3/10 (0/300 world essence) Blademancer lvl 4/10 (0/400 world essence) Blader lvl 4/10 (0/400 world essence) Revenant lvl 4/10 (0/400 world essence) Recent World Essence gain: 84 World Essence for killing: Warrior 623 World Essence for killing: Ranger x 6 Both the Warrior and Rangers gave him a larger amount of world essence than Roderick and Isaac, despite being of the same Classifications. It made sense, if the wolves gave him different amounts of world essence depending on strength, combatants must as well. Looking over his options, it didn¡¯t take him long to decide which Classifications he would spend his world essence on. If he wasn¡¯t going to be using his Chronomancer or Blademancer Classifications in the near future, there was no need to level them for the time being. Blader has reached level 5 Attributes have been added: +1 Dexterity +1 Agility Revenant has reached level 5 Attributes have been added: +1 Strength +1 Constitution Leveling the two Classifications left him with 25 world essence. Leveling done, he checked his Attributes tab to see what his stats were at. Name: Dante HP: 150/150 Mana: 170/170 (+1.9/sec) Strength: 14 Constitution: 15 Dexterity: 20 (+2.4) Agility: 14 (+1.68) Intelligence: 17 Wisdom: 19 Charisma: 6 Dante did a doubletake when he looked at his attributes. Two changes left him thoroughly confused. Both his Strength and Charisma were higher than they should have been. Strength went up by 1 point from where it should be, which might be understandable, he had been eating better recently, and it was possible that his Strength increased from that. The Charisma increase made no sense though. To increase Charisma, one would need to improve the way they interact with others or make themselves look more appealing. One thing he knew, was that he couldn¡¯t possibly have improved his Charisma through his recent interactions with others. If anything, he would have thought that his Charisma would have dropped, not been raised by 2 points. It was possible that the long bath he took the night before had some influence, but he thought it unlikely. He would often bathe in one of the small rivers that cut through Alazel before he got his Status, so the act of bathing shouldn¡¯t have too large of an impact. Since he was at the academy, he put learning more about Charisma on his to-do list. He had a basic understanding of it, that it helped with interpersonal relations, but that was all. Finished with his Status, he headed out of the bathroom intent on getting to his Swordsmanship training in time. Mia saw Dante come out of his bedroom and move toward the front door. She narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°You¡¯re not going anywhere until you eat your breakfast.¡± She pointed towards the table in the middle of the room. The table itself was entirely covered in different fruit, meat, pastries, and egg dishes. Dante just stared at it. He had never, in his life, seen so much prepared food in one place. ¡°Did you make all of this?¡± His tone was full of amazement. Mia blushed slightly. ¡°No. Food is sent to all of the servants of Housing District 1 daily, we only have to prepare a few of the dishes.¡± Dante wasted no time, running to the table and digging into the food. If he could eat like this daily putting on weight wouldn¡¯t be a problem. Shortly after he started to eat, he noticed that Mia was just standing next to the table in silence. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to eat too?¡± She shook her head. ¡°No, I¡¯ll eat with the other servants while you are doing your Swordsmanship training.¡± Dante¡¯s head slightly tilted to the side in confusion. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make any sense, there is no way I can eat all of this.¡± He pointed at the other dishes with the fork in his hand. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be proper for me to eat with you.¡± One of Dante¡¯s eyebrows quirked up. ¡°Yes, I wouldn¡¯t wantyouacting improperly.¡± He pointed to a chair. ¡°Just sit down, based on the treatment I¡¯ve gotten so far I¡¯m sure this food is better than what they give the servants.¡± She heaved a sigh and sat down across from him on the circle table. They both ate in silence, but he had a slight smile on his face the entire time. Even though he did want Mia to eat the food because it would be better than what the servants got, the real reason he wanted Mia to eat with him was a far more selfish one.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. He had never eaten at a table with another person before, and wanted to know what it would be like. Of course, traveling on the road with both Edward and Sam, as well as Alexander and Layla, he had eaten road rations with others. But for his first time eating at a table, he would much rather do it with someone else, and so far, he was enjoying it. After breakfast, Mia escorted him to yard one. It was also relatively close to Housing District 1, only a few minutes¡¯ walk, and he was starting to get the feeling that the academy was divided by status far more than he had initially thought. Since he had arrived at the academy, not only had he not interacted with any commoner students, but all of his immediate needs were also close to Housing District 1. The only exception to the rule so far was the hospital. He was more than happy with its location though, he would need it far more by the arena. Yard one was easily identifiable. Not only were there a multitude of different looking training devices and dummies on a massive field to practice combat with, but the grass itself was strange. It was blue, which was something he had never seen before. Dante turned to Mia, who was about to leave him. ¡°Why is the grass blue.¡± Mia waved her hand dismissively. ¡°It¡¯s just a show of wealth for petty nobles. The grass is blue from some alchemist¡¯s potion. It makes the grass resistant to mana, and tougher, which is a big help when combatants are constantly practicing their skills on it. In other words, it¡¯s just as useful as the dirt that covers the other yards within the academy.¡± Dante¡¯s eyes went wide at her explanation, he knew next to nothing about alchemists, but thought the blue grass would be amazingly useful. ¡°Does that potion work on everything?¡± If he could use it on his clothes, it would both make them tougher and mana resistant. Mia¡¯s laughing answer gave him a good idea of how absurd his question was. ¡°No, the grass is changed by infusing the seeds. That particular potion only works on vegetation. It wouldn¡¯t matter though, it¡¯s a blue potion, so the effects are weak, and only effective for protection against new combatants¡¯ attacks. That¡¯s why it is just a show of wealth.¡± She turned to leave. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be here when your training is over.¡± Dante waved goodbye and turned to the training yard. Only a few other students were waiting, which he thought was strange because there was over double that number in what he thought were instructors. There were two reasons why he thought they were the instructors, the first was because they were all older and intimidating. Most of them staring at the other students with what seemed to be disdain. The second reason was Sir Andres, who standing among them. As Dante walked into the yard, Sir Andres noticed him. ¡°Ah. Dante, you managed to make it on time. Go ahead and get lined up.¡± The ¡®line¡¯ was a group of around twenty other students who were all dressed identically to him in the combat uniform of the academy. Without waiting, Dante stepped into line with them, imitating their squared shoulders as they stared at the instructors in silence. They waited for around for almost an hour, when the sun was fully into the sky, before the instructors began to issue orders. In that time, a noble or two would periodically show up. He guessed that there were around forty of them now, roughly equal to the number of instructors. He assumed that they were waiting for all the nobles before they started the lesson, which is why they waited until the sun was in the sky instead of first light like Mia had told him. But he seemed to be proven wrong when almost half of the instructors were dismissed by Sir Andres. Sir Andres spoke up to address the ones that remained. ¡°Alright, I guess this is the best we can expect¡­ we will choose in order of rank this quarter.¡± He stopped and glared at a burly bald man who had a wide smile on his face. ¡°Happy? I don¡¯t want any funny business like last semester.¡± The bald man happily nodded. ¡°Of course.¡± Seeing the man¡¯s expression, Sir Andres looked doubtful. ¡°Alright, get on with it then.¡± The bald man began walking down the line of nobles, a smile on his face as he pushed and prodded the ones he found to be of some interest. He would inspect one, back up and rub his chin, then mutter to himself for a moment before moving to the next. Dante was no exception. As soon as the burly man saw Dante, his eyes lit up, and he started to push and prod him. Muttering to himself as he moved to the next person in line. The bald man continued for several minutes, not finishing until he checked over everyone, while Sir Andres was rubbing the crook of his nose in agitation for the entirety of the process. ¡°Alright Archie, you¡¯ve had your fun. Just pick your student.¡± Sir Andres seemed to be running out of patience. ¡°Alright, I pick him.¡± He pointed at one of the stockier nobles in the line. The boy was large, at least 6 feet tall already, and had a mop of blond curls. He couldn¡¯t really tell whether the boy was happy to be chosen or not. Much like the instructor, the noble was already smiling, and his expression didn¡¯t change at all, there was just a quick nod. Sir Andres gave a relieved sigh. ¡°Alright next Sir Car-¡± ¡°I also want the weird looking one.¡± The instructor pointed directly at Dante. Sir Andres didn¡¯t answer, just groaned. He didn¡¯t need to answer, another instructor was quick to speak up. ¡°You can¡¯t choose two. It¡¯s my pick, wait until your next turn.¡± The instructor who chose him, Archie, just turned to the man who spoke with a good-natured smile. ¡°There¡¯s no need to wait until my next pick, why don¡¯t we just duel for him?¡± He gripped the pommel of his sword. The one who had spoken up was still furious, but a look of hesitation crossed his face. ¡°I don¡¯t wanthim, but it¡¯s the principal of the matter. You should act befitting of your title as a knight of House Calman.¡± Are all of these instructors knights? ¡°But I¡¯m notjusta knight.¡± Even though he was still smiling, the tone was menacing. Archie winked at the other instructor, and the man flinched. Sir Andres jumped in before things could get out of hand. ¡°For the love of the Goddess, just take the two of them.¡± He glared at Archie. ¡°But if you cause me any more problems today¡­¡± He let the threat hang in the air. Archie just smiled and nodded at Sir Andres¡¯ words. Dante wasn¡¯t going to complain. If he had to choose an instructor to teach him Swordsmanship, he wanted the strongest one, and Archie definitely seemed like he had some power to back up his domineering behavior. Sir Andres sharply inhaled in agitation, then turned to the other instructors. ¡°Alright, now that the only potential problem has been handled, I¡¯ll let the rest of you take care of it. I need to check the other yards and make sure that there aren¡¯t any issues.¡± After Sir Andres left the other instructors began to choose their students. None of them walked forward to inspect them, they just pointed to one of the students when it was their turn. Archie just ignored them, stepping forward he put a hand on Dante¡¯s shoulder and led him toward the other boy he chose. After getting to him, Archie pulled them both off to one side of the yard. Then, he cupped his hands together to yell loudly. ¡°Yard boy, get us 20 wooden swords.¡± He paused for a moment, then almost as an afterthought. ¡°Oh, and bring over a healer as well.¡± Why would we need twenty wooden swords¡­ and more importantly a healer? Archie turned back to the two of them with a smile. ¡°Alright, what are your names and houses?¡± The other boy who was also smiling replied first. ¡°I am William, but you can call me Will, of House Savion.¡± They both looked at Dante, still smiling, which somehow made the situation worse. ¡°My name is Dante, and I don¡¯t come from a noble house.¡± Archie, who scratched his chin, just nodded. ¡°Hmm, Interesting.¡± William, or Will, didn¡¯t even seem to register his words, or didn¡¯t seem to care. ¡°Why do you look like that?¡± He didn¡¯t say it mockingly, but as if genuinely curious. ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­¡± Archie waved the two of them to be quiet. ¡°You two can socialize later.¡± He addressed Dante. ¡°What do you know about world essence manipulation?¡± ¡°Nothing¡­¡± Archie smiled and nodded. ¡°Good, good.¡± Turning to Will. ¡°You?¡± Will looked up as if considering. ¡°I have a good grasp on the basics, but I¡¯ve never actually tried it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s perfect, you¡¯ll both be starting at basically the same time then. For the next three months you two will be sparring partners, so I would suggest that whoever is weaker doesn¡¯t piss off the stronger one¡­ Now, where are those blasted swords?¡± Just as he said the words, two people ran up. A boy carrying a bundle of wooden swords followed by a middle-aged woman in a priest¡¯s outfit. Archie picked up two swords and tossed them both one each. ¡°Alright Dante, the basics are pretty simple. Pretty much all you have to do is manipulate the world essence around you into the weapon.¡± He stopped as if waiting for him to start. That is the explanation for world essence manipulation? Archie noticed his confused expression and seemed to remember something. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. I would recommend only doing a small amount to start off with, if you don¡¯t want to die. If you lose control, the sword will explode¡­¡± That was his afterthought? Will was just standing to the side, he looked quite happy to not be involved in the situation. Dante cleared his throat. ¡°Perhaps you could give me a demonstration first?¡± Archie scratched his head. ¡°Hmm, maybe I should have started with a demonstration.¡± He picked a sword out of the pile. As soon as he held the sword aloft, a blue glow covered it. It quickly became more and more dense as Archie put more world essence into it. ¡°Right now, I am adding world essence until it is at a level that I am comfortable with. The better your control of world essence, the more you can add.¡± ¡°It will take you a while to be able to control a useable amount of world essence, but after its done, you have several options. In this stage, the world essence is useless and doesn¡¯t improve the performance of the sword, but¡­¡± Archie¡¯s eyebrows knit together slightly as he focused on the weapon. Slowly the world essence near the blade of the sword began to collapse in on itself, becoming narrower, almost as if there was a dull blue edge of a sword covering his original sword. The now slightly pale-faced Archie began to teach again. ¡°This is the swordsmanship I practice, edge control world essence manipulation, the world essence edge covering the sword is far more destructive that of a regular weapon. It is the standard type of world essence control, and about ninety percent of combatants practice it.¡± Archie swung the sword at the ground, and Dante watched openmouthed as he saw the sword slash a trench into the ground below him. Anywhere the blue glow touched, the dirt seemed to just disappear. ¡°The better your control, the sharper of an edge you can create, and the more world essence you can pack into it.¡± ¡°Of course, there are more advanced ways to manipulate world essence in a weapon, but most people never use them. It¡¯s hard enough to learn one type of Swordsmanship control, learning a second is impossible for the average combatant¡­ Also, I would recommend you also learn this edge control Swordsmanship, or you will have a tricky time getting through Mana shields in the arena.¡± Archie wasn¡¯t done. ¡°Now I will show you what happens when you lose control of the world essence within the weapon.¡± He held the sword aloft, and the world essence began to dim until it was barely glowing. ¡°I am lowering the world essence to a level that won''t cause too much damage, this should give you an idea of what to expect if you lose control.¡± He flung the sword into the air. The sword exploded with a loud bang, hurling wooden shards that bounced off of Archie and embedded into any objects in the nearby vicinity. What in the fuck¡­ No way is that happening in my hand. Archie noticed Dante¡¯s expression and laughed. ¡°Now you know why I called for the healer. If either of you loses control, it won¡¯t be nearly that tame.¡± His smile seemed far more menacing now. ¡°Alright, you got your demonstration. Get to it.¡± Dante just stared at the instructor, eye twitching. He was going to let him try to do that without an explanation first? Dante let out a deep breath, calming his anxiety. He began to feed world essence into the wooden sword. It took far more world essence than he thought it would, and all he had to use all of his concentration. In his periphery, he could see Archie, Will, and the healer all backup. It was quite obvious why they were doing it, but as soon as he noticed them, his concentration lapsed. All he heard was a loud bang, and then felt pain erupt all over his body. Dante fell to his knees, trying not to scream out in pain while he cursed Archie in his mind. He looked down at the pommel of the wooden sword that was still in his hand. It was completely intact, the tip of the sword was the part that shattered, embedding shards into seemingly every section of his body. Archie walked up with the healer. ¡°Alright, get him patched up before he loses too much blood.¡± He turned back to Dante with a smile. ¡°Now that you know what it feels like when you lose control, I¡¯ll teach you how to control it. You actually did better than I thought.¡± The man must have thought his joke was funny, because as soon as he stopped talking, he started to laugh. Dante just stared at the wooden pommel in his hand as he heard Archie¡¯s words. I¡¯m going to kill him¡­ Chapter 19 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 19 After the healer removed the shards of wood from his body, Archie began toactuallyteach him to manipulate the world essence into the sword and control it, and the process had nothing to do with actually using the sword itself. Whichreallypissed him off¡­ Archie pulled out two glass-like orbs and tossed them to both him and Will. Dante caught his, it was completely clear and slightly larger than the palm of his hand. ¡°This is a manipulation orb. I would suggest you don¡¯t lose it, it¡¯s the only one you¡¯ll get for free.¡± He pulled another one out of his pocket. ¡°With one of these, you can train in both World Essence Manipulation and Mana Manipulation without something blowing up.¡± Archie finished the last with a laugh. ¡°There are a few other uses for these, but those uses are just for pretentious upstarts, and have no place in a real combatant¡¯s training.¡± ¡°The orb will automatically stabilize and diffuse world essence and Mana. The first step is to actually fill it with world essence.¡± Archie narrowed his eyebrows as he focused on the orb. Where his hands were holding it, mist-like world essence began to pour into the clear ball. The essence itself was thin and could easily be seen through. ¡°After you fill it with any amount of world essence, compress it.¡± The mist began to compress down into the center. It turned into a small, dense blue ball within the manipulation orb. ¡°When condensed, the world essence will stop leaking out of the manipulation orb. When you get to this stage, and can hold it comfortably, you will be able to fill a wooden sword without it exploding.¡± He stopped the demonstration by releasing his hold on the condensed world essence. It immediately expanded out into blue mist and escaped as it reached the outside of the orb. ¡°You have a month to be able to condense world essence in the orb. Any amount will do.¡± He looked at the two of them, making sure they understood. They both nodded. He actually understood quite well. He understood that Archie had set him up to fail earlier, and the shards of wood that had been lodged within his body were clearly for the instructor¡¯s enjoyment. He also understood that Will knew what would happen, he had backed off immediately when he tried to fill the sword with world essence. Dante let out a deep breath. It didn¡¯t matter, he had been treated like this before. From past experience, he knew that if he complained or tried to retaliate it would only get worse. He had been too trusting of Archie and almost blew himself up. Since he had left Alazel he had dropped his guard far too often, a mistake he wouldn¡¯t make again. ¡°Alright, now that we¡¯ve covered the basics world essence manipulation it¡¯s time to break the two of you in.¡± Archie reached back into the pile of swords and picked out two new weapons. He tossed Dante one and kept the other for himself. Will still had the sword he had been given earlier. Archie pointed his weapon at the two of them. ¡°Alright, two against one. We will fight until all of the swords are broken.¡± Fight until the swords are broken? The words didn¡¯t make any sense whatsoever. Twenty wooden swords had been understandable when he had thought they were going to lose one every time they failed with world essence manipulation, but if they were just going to be fighting, he didn¡¯t understand how they would break so many solid word swords. He quickly received his answer as Archie ran at them. Dante let a breath of relief out as the instructor charged Will first. The noble looked like he had at least some experience in sword fighting, as Archie swung at him he readied his wooden sword to deflect the blow. Archie, mid-swing, switched his grip on the weapon bringing it down flat on Will¡¯s hand to an audible snapping noise. Will immediately let go of the sword, hunching over his hand in pain. Will clearly thought the fight was over after he broke his fingers, but was wrong. Archie swung the flat of his sword against Will¡¯s ribs. The snapping noise was far louder this time, and the wooden sword broke in half. Dante watched in horror, hoping his Constitution was higher than Will¡¯s. There was no way that he hadn¡¯t just broken a few ribs. Archie threw down his now broken sword. ¡°That¡¯s one sword down.¡± He walked over to the pile and picked another one up, then turned to Dante. Shit. As quickly as he could, Dante held his sword out between his hands and kneed it as hard as he could in an attempt to break it. His only result was pain in his knee.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Seeing what he was doing Archie laughed. ¡°Good to see you have a brain on you.¡± The instructor charged him, and Dante knew he had no chance. At half his maximum speed, he brought his sword up to deflect Archie¡¯s first strike. The instructor used the same tactic he used against Will, changing his grip mid-swing and attacking his hand. He was ready for the tactic, as soon as Archie switched grips and brought his sword down toward his hand, he utilized his full Dexterity and Agility, dodging the instructors attack completely and slashing at his neck. He had no idea what happened next, one moment he was swinging at Archie¡¯s neck, the next moment he heard a loud crack and he fell to the floor clutching his now broken ribs. He touched them lightly, checking to see how many were broken. Two of them, and three were cracked, thankfully none of them seemed to puncture a lung. He had broken his fair share of ribs in Alazel and immediately tried to get himself upright, laying down would only make things worse. As Dante tried to sit up, another cracking noise rang out, causing him to violently flinch. Luckily it wasn¡¯t him, Will got hit again. Archie walked back to the pile of swords, picking up a new one, then turned back and saw Dante struggling to sit up. ¡°Not bad, you have more backbone than the usual pansies I get.¡± He swaggered over to Dante with a smile on his face and a new sword in hand. Will was already knocked out, and he could hardly move at all with his broken ribs. Dante just sat back down on the ground, waiting for the next blow. There was no way he could get away from the instructor. Closing his eyes, not wanting to see the blow coming, Dante heard another cracking noise. This time his shoulder felt crushed, and he was flung through the dirt like a ragdoll. A few seconds later he heard another crack, likely Will being hit even though he already passed out. He¡¯s going to kill me¡­ Somehow Dante stayed conscious for another two blows before the sweet, painless darkness of unconsciousness enveloped him.
The first thing he saw when he came back into consciousness was the middle-aged healer from earlier. The woman had beads of sweat covering her pale face as she struggled to get him fully healed. To his relief, the pain that was wracking his body was slowly starting to recede. In Dante¡¯s eyes, the woman was the Goddess. Standing behind his Goddess, was a smiling monster out of his nightmares. ¡°Good job, you did far better than Will, and even broke the old record of three strikes before you passed out.¡± He pointed to indicate Will. If Archie hadn¡¯t pointed Will out, he didn¡¯t think he would have recognized him. Different sections of his body were caved in, and he couldn¡¯t see a single place on his body that wasn¡¯t discolored in some way. Dante couldn¡¯t help but shiver, which sent pain through his body, Archie didn¡¯t beat them randomly. He clearly knew what he was doing, or the two of them wouldn¡¯t have survived for so many hits. Even the swords that they were holding at the start of the fight were broken. Archie was a completely mad, he assumed that he would have stopped beating the two of them after they had both passed out, but that didn¡¯t seem to be the case. He was just happy that he didn¡¯t have a mirror to look at his current condition. ¡°Since you did so well, I had you patched up first¡­ your welcome. Now that you know what it¡¯s like to get the shit knocked out of you, I¡¯ll teach you how to actually swing that sword tomorrow. We are done for the day, so you can go.¡± As if I already didn¡¯t know what it was like to ¡®get the shit knocked out of me¡¯¡­ Is every lesson going to end with a healing session? He didn¡¯t have the energy to be angry at Archie, he was just relieved to be done for the day. A few minutes later, the healer had him fixed up as good as new, aside from the slight exhaustion from the healing itself, so he picked up the manipulation orb and walked toward where Mia said she would be. On his way there, Dante saw some of the other instructors work with their students. He began to mutter curses under his breath as he watched all of the other nobles work through different sword forms under their instructor¡¯s supervision. None of them seemed to be nursing broken bones. Mia was waiting where she said she would be, which surprised him, he wasn¡¯t sure how long Swordsmanship practice was, but knew he finished early. When she noticed him, she had a look of confusion on her face. ¡°You¡¯re finished early, did something go wrong?¡± ¡°I think so¡­ My instructor is evil.¡± Mia looked slightly agitated at his news, which surprised him. ¡°What happened?¡± Dante released a sigh. ¡°He let me explode a sword I was holding, then beat me unconscious without teaching me anything.¡± Her eyebrows narrowed. ¡°Who is your instructor.¡± If Mia was planning on going to complain, he was more than happy to let her. ¡°His name is Archie.¡± Mia winced. ¡°It was a good thing that you got out early, the other servants were talking about the tournament final that¡¯s about to start. Why don¡¯t we go watch it?¡± The wince and instant change of conversation gave him a good idea about how screwed he was by having Archie as his instructor. ¡°What tournament final?¡± ¡°Every time a dungeon that the academy owns regenerates its dungeon boss, the academy holds a platinum rank tournament to choose who can kill it.¡± That confused him, Layla and Alexander had told him that he could use credits to enter the academy¡¯s dungeon. ¡°I thought that you got entry to dungeons by spending your credits.¡± ¡°You can enter the dungeon and kill monsters for essence crystals with credits, but the dungeon boss itself only goes to the tournament winner.¡± That made sense, and if the tournament final was about to start it would likely be between the top two students at the academy. The fight could be a valuable learning experience. Dante nodded to Mia. ¡°Let¡¯s go watch.¡± Chapter 20 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 20 Dante sat in the stands of the largest arena, playing around with his manipulation orb. He was only ¡®playing around¡¯ with it because no matter what he did, he couldn¡¯t get it to fill withanyworld essence. It didn¡¯t matter how forcefully he tried, it diffused immediately. ¡°You¡¯re doing it wrong.¡± Mia was sitting next to him in the arena, they were both waiting for the fight to start, but were still thirty minutes early. They had gotten good seats though. As soon as he showed the attendant outside of the arena his identification card for entry and she saw that he was from Housing District 1, she brought him directly to the front row. ¡°What am I doing wrong?¡± Dante had no misgivings about taking hints from Mia, Archie didn¡¯t seem like he was going to be a big help when it came to voluntarily handing out advice. ¡°You can¡¯t just feed world essence into it, you need to force it into the core. Any world essence that is touching the outside of the orb will immediately dissipate instead of slowly seeping out.¡± After hearing Mia¡¯s advice, he refocused on the orb with new determination. Instead of simply feeding the world essence inside he tried to shoot it into the center. It took a few minutes, and left him pale with beads of sweat dripping from his face, but he thought he saw a thin blue wisp of world essence in the orb. It only appeared for a moment, then disappeared, which left him feeling quite downcast. Mia saw his expression and let out a soft laugh. ¡°Most people would take half a month to get any world essence to become visible in a manipulation orb, yet you¡¯re upset after getting it in the first day.¡± ¡°If it takes them half a month to get any world essence to appear, then how are they supposed to get it to condense in a month?¡± Mia looked at him with a confused expression. ¡°A month? You would be far enough ahead of the other students if you were able to get it to condense it in your first semester. Most have to take the world essence manipulation class two or three times before moving on to the advanced class.¡± That was something he had never heard of. ¡°What¡¯s the advanced class?¡± ¡°The advanced class actually teaches students how to manipulate world essence within weapons in order to increase their combat capabilities. The basic world essence manipulation class is only supposed to teach weapon forms, and how to maintain world essence within a weapon safely.¡± She paused for a moment, as if pondering something. ¡°If Archie wants his students to be able to condense the world essence in the first month¡­ well, that would explain a lot of things. Everyone always wonders how Archie¡¯s students rise to platinum rank so quickly.¡± What she said actually left him somewhat relieved. If it took other students several quarters to learn Swordsmanship, it meant he wouldn¡¯t need to deal with anyone who used edge control in the arena for a while. Just thinking of Archie cutting a trench into the dirt with a single swipe caused him to break out in a cold sweat. ¡°How long does it take magic Classifications to learn mana manipulation?¡± If mana manipulation was as useful as world essence manipulation, he would be at a significant disadvantage if it was easier to learn. ¡°Most have some ability with it by their second quarter, but it wouldn¡¯t be very useful. Mana manipulation is more challenging to become efficient with than world essence manipulation, despite being easier to initially learn. Most magic Classification in the silver rank of the arena can use it, but it¡¯s hardly an advantage. It¡¯s not until gold rank that Swordsmanship and Mana Manipulation actually come into play.¡± If the fights were going to be the basic type of fighting that he was used to, without world essence or mana manipulation, it might be worth it for him to start fighting in the arena immediately and earn credits. Mia had told him that he needed to win thirteen fights to afford even the cheapest class in the next quarter, but if he could, he would rather take more than one. There was still too much he had to learn, and he wasn¡¯t sure how long he wanted to stay at the academy. One thing that was strange though, was Mia¡¯s extensive knowledge on using the manipulation orb. A servant generally shouldn¡¯t have a combat Classification. Her knowing about world essence and mana manipulation itself wasn¡¯t strange since she worked at the academy, but she shouldn¡¯t have known how to force world essence into the orb¡­ unless that was also general knowledge. He debated asking her how she knew so much about it, but decided against it. He already assumed that she was directly reporting everything he did to someone, likely Alexander or Layla, so voicing any suspicions he might have would only cause her to needlessly distance herself from him. Just as he was going to refocus on his manipulation orb, the arena exploded with noise. Everyone who was sitting in the seats around him began to yell and chant at the top of their lungs. For a moment, he couldn¡¯t understand why, but then two figures came out of side doors that connected to the arena¡¯s pit and walked to the center. They stood about 30 feet apart from each other on separate sides of the large arena. The arena itself was a massive circle, at least 100 feet in diameter, only ending abruptly when it reached a wall that cut it off from the stands where the audience sat. Neither of them seemed to be using a sword, which disappointed him. He had wanted to see swordsmanship in action from a student, and not an instructor who had already specialized their Classification. The first combatant, who was wearing a combat uniform that was almost identical to the one he currently had on, was completely unarmed. It was pretty obvious from his demeanor that he was a proud noble. The other one had a much more rugged uniform on, it was worn and roughly patched up. It seemed like it offered far less protection than the one his opponent was wearing, and instead of black color, the uniform just seemed to be rough brown leather and white cotton. He wouldn¡¯t even have thought it was an academy uniform if it didn¡¯t have the black deer sigil of House Calman on it. Given his poor attire, it was somewhat surprising that he was confidently carrying a large spear with one hand, resting it on his shoulder in a relaxed manner. His attitude was in stark contrast to the tense noble standing across from him in opposition. After seeing the two walk out, Mia winced. ¡°This is going to be ugly¡­¡± He looked at her curiously. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°From what I¡¯ve heard, they have some history. Most of the servants were hoping that the two of them would make it to the final.¡± She pointed to the noble. ¡°Bennett is from House Lakis in the Outer region. Generally, they have a strong magic Classification bloodline, but Bennett only received a Mage Classification and is something of a joke in his family. After all, house heirs are expected to have more than one Classification, or at the very least a single rare one.¡±The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. She pointed to the one holding the spear. ¡°Aiden, on the other hand, joined the academy with his twin brother two years ago. Although they were both commoners, they rose in popularity rapidly due to having both the Warrior Classification and the far rarer Lancer Classification. Even several noble houses from the Outer region were competing to get closer to the two of them.¡± ¡°Unfortunately, their popularity didn¡¯t last long, Aiden¡¯s brother Lucas got matched up with Bennett in a bronze ranked arena match¡­ Bennett seemed to hold something of a grudge against Lucas and Aiden.¡± She cleared her throat. ¡°Bennett, coming from a noble family, had far more combat experience and a higher Classification level. As soon as the fight started, he burnt Lucas alive¡­ slowly. After that Aiden left the academy.¡± Mia glanced around to make sure no one was listening, then began to whisper. ¡°Apparently, he¡¯s spent the last two years in the Wastelands.¡± That forced him to take a closer look at Aiden. Surviving two years in the Wastelands was no laughing matter. Both the Outer and Outer Edge regions of Aleria are vast rings that surround the Chaos region, but the nobles only controlled a tiny sliver of the outer regions. To the best of his knowledge, the Wastelands actually took up almost all of the Outer Edge and Outer regions of Aleria. When all of the nobles fled their territory during the last campaign, and moved together to try and survive, the abandoned territory had almost all of its population eradicated. The only people to survive were the toughest combatants, giving way to vast wars to decide who would become the strongest warlord. Even though that was almost two hundred years ago, things had hardly died down in the Wastelands. Since then, different noble houses had tried to reclaim their lands, but couldn¡¯t compete with the savagery of the warlords within the Wastelands. Eventually, the hostilities increased, and the nobles erected a massive border on either side of their territory. The Wastelands had become something of a taboo subject in the noble¡¯s territory, and anyone who tried to cross it, whether entering or leaving the wastelands, was killed. Aiden crossing the bordertwicewas hard to believe. But surviving for two years inside the Wastelands also? He was far more interested in seeing him fight now. Mia spoke up next to him. ¡°Bennett is really unlucky, he only stayed behind in the academy for the last year so that he could win a tournament and get a monster crystal.¡± ¡°What do you mean by stay behind?¡± ¡°Students are only allowed at the academy pre-specialization. After they specialize, they are either sent off to a position in a noble house or return to their houses if they are a noble. Like most of the Outer region nobles, Bennett has plenty of resources from his family to specialize. They only come to the academy to build relationships with other noble house heirs. Staying at the academy for an extra year for the opportunity to get a rare monster crystal will likely cost him his life.¡± That explained why Bennett seemed so tense standing before Aiden. ¡°What do you mean cost him his life? Would the instructors really allow Aiden to kill a noble from the Outer region?¡± ¡°They would. Aiden would only get the regular kill penalty of a three-day ban from the arena. Only an idiot would actually kill a noble though, there are plenty of ways to die silently, and many of them are painful.¡± She looked at Dante seriously. ¡°A good rule of thumb is to not kill anyone from Housing District 1 or 2. You can tell someone¡¯s Housing District by their uniform.¡± There is only a three-day ban for murdering someone in the arena? And Mia is actually giving me tips on how to do it safely¡­? Dante shifted his focus back to the arena, now very intent on the upcoming fight. The moderator was outlining the rules, and it seemed like it wouldn¡¯t end until someone surrendered or could no longer continue. ¡°Does Bennett even have a chance of winning?¡± From what Mia had told him, he definitely favored Aiden in the fight, but if it were too one-sided, he would be able to learn much from watching. ¡°It¡¯s hard to say for sure, Bennett has the best mana manipulation in the academy by far¡­ But I still think he won¡¯t be a match for Aiden.¡± The news was depressing, but the fight was about to start, so he didn¡¯t have any more time to talk with Mia. The moderator had just finished going over the rules. ¡°Bennett Lakis, are you ready?¡± A nervous Bennett nodded back to him. ¡°Aiden Clarke, are you ready?¡± Aiden maintained eye contact with Bennett, smiling while he nodded in confirmation. The moderator¡¯s eyebrows narrowed in concentration, and an enchantment next to him glowed blue. A blue screen surrounded the entire fighting pit below, beginning to climb up and slowly envelope it. Dante turned to ask Mia what it was, but she saw him look at her and answered before he could ask. ¡°It¡¯s a protection enchantment, some of the gold and platinum fights can be dangerous for the audience.¡± When the enchantment finally finished, creating a large translucent bubble over the arena, the moderator yelled out. ¡°Begin!¡± Bennett wasted no time, hurling three fireballs at Aiden as soon as the fight started. One going toward him directly, and the other two going on either side to seal off any escape. Aiden stepped to the left lazily, then turned sideways, putting him in between two of the fireballs. The fireballs whizzed past him, barely missing and leaving him completely uninjured. After they passed, he turned back to Bennett with a mocking smile, his spear still resting on his shoulder. The fight progressed like that for a few minutes. Bennett would send fireballs at Aiden, Aiden would effortlessly dodge them, then Bennett would sendmorefireballs in an attempt to hit him. He didn¡¯t see the logic of Bennett¡¯s actions, it just seemed like he was wasting his mana while Aiden wasn¡¯t flustered at all. Even though Bennett only had the Mage Classification, and therefore only one skill, he had still expected more from the use of mana manipulation, which he hadn¡¯t seen thus far. By the time Bennett finally stopped launching fireballs at Aiden, he was panting with sweat dripping down his face. His exhaustion and ugly expression was in stark contrast to Aiden, who was now slowly walking up to him, twirling his spear through the air menacingly. As Aiden stepped forward, his spear began to glow blue, becoming more dense the closer he got to Bennett. It was amazing how effortless he made it seem, filling the spear with world essence as he twirled it through the air. When Aiden was halfway to Bennett, he stopped. Now holding the spear with two hands, the world essence around the spear began to distort. It started twisting and spinning at the tip of the spearhead, spinning faster and faster as if picking up momentum. The vortex moved down the shaft of the spear funneling out wider as it moved further from the tip. As it picked up speed, the world essence at the tip of the spear became more and more narrow. It was amazing, no longer looking as though Aiden was holding a spear, but a cyclone that came to a point at the spearhead. Even Archie, who was at least specialized, couldn¡¯t compare to Aiden¡¯s control of the world essence in his weapon. One thing became increasingly obvious to Dante as he watched the fight progress; Bennet was fucked. Bennett seemed to know it as well. He threw out both of his hands and blue barriers appeared out of thin air in front of him, one directly in front of the other blocking Aiden¡¯s path. They started out translucent, but became denser as Bennett fed them with power and tried to push them toward each other. ¡°I surr-¡± He was cut off by Aiden piercing him with his spear. Piercing didn¡¯t even seem like the right word, hedestroyedBennett. Aiden moved faster than anyone he had ever seen in his life, even faster than Edward when he killed their group in the dungeon. Rushing into Bennett spear first, the shields shattered into pieces as soon as the spearhead touched them. Continuing on undeterred, as soon as the cyclone surrounding his spear touched Bennett, the noble was blasted apart. Chunks of flesh were launched from the spinning cyclone''s energy, splattering across the protection enchantment that covered the arena pit. Everything that was left of Bennett - parts of his head, arms, and legs that didn¡¯t get caught in the cyclone - hit the floor in a gory mess. The entire chest cavity, from his lower abdomen to his neck was completely gone. Everyone in the crowd stared in stunned silence. He was no different, there was only one way to describe Aiden in the fight; domineering. Dante turned to Mia, who didn¡¯t seem as startled as everyone else, or sickened by the gore. ¡°How?¡± She sat in silence for a moment, thinking about the fight. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. The Charge skill is a specialty of the Lancer Classification, but no one should have that much control of world essence in the Outer Edge region. Not only that but he only started to learn two years ago.¡± She started to whisper to him. ¡°Something must have happened to him in the Wastelands.¡± Chapter 21 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 21 Layla Calman Layla drummed her fingers in thought as she read through the report in front of her. As soon as she arrived at the academy, she ordered an investigation into Dante, specifically in Alazel where he said he had been living for the past few years. She had thought something had been ¡®off¡¯ about Dante during the journey to the academy, as if he was hiding something from them. She supposed it was because after he told them that he had the Blader Classification, he immediately had his guard up around her and Alexander. Just thinking about what he could be keeping secret made her eager to uncover what he was hiding. But the investigation she ordered should haveansweredher questions, not create more. He didn¡¯t get a Classification when he got his Status¡­ what does that even mean? She had clearly seen Dante¡¯s ability when Sir Andres tested him. There was no way he didn¡¯t at least have some sort of Classification, even if he had lied about having the Blader Classification. Not only that, but she didn¡¯t understand how anyone could be so hated. The only way her agents in the area could get information on short notice was by paying for it. Otherwise, when they asked about Dante they were immediately reported to the priests. The only piece of useful information the report contained was a piece of gossip. Apparently, Dante had stolen an enchanted stone from the lord¡¯s son. It had resulted in the death of two guards who investigated the theft, and when the stone wasn¡¯t found, the lord¡¯s son was sent to the academy as punishment¡­ Her thinking was cut off by the sound of footsteps in the hallway. Finally. The door to her office opened and Sir Andres stepped through. ¡°You called, my lady?¡± She wasn¡¯t in the mood for formalities. ¡°Has Mia made any progress yet?¡± At her question, the Sir Andres released a sigh. ¡°No, her advances toward him have been rejected. Also, she has not yet learned anything that we do not already know.¡± A look of irritation crossed Layla¡¯s face. ¡°Tell her that if she doesn¡¯t start getting results, we will send her back. Any brute can stop him from running away, she is supposed to be getting closer to him. We didn¡¯t have to give her an easy assignment.¡± Keeping Mia assigned to Dante would be a massive waste of resources if she wasn¡¯t going to serve some purpose. Sir Andres hesitated for a moment, then cleared his throat. ¡°From her reports, their relationship has improved greatly over the last few days, despite its rocky start.¡± She thought about the information for a moment. ¡°Very well, keep an eye on her though. She may be sabotaging the relationship on purpose¡­ motivate her if you have too.¡± Her suggestion caused an uncomfortable expression to flash across the Sir Andres¡¯ face. ¡°We both know she wouldn¡¯t disobey an order.¡± He cleared his throat. ¡°I still don¡¯t understand though, why don¡¯t you just let me question him? It wouldn¡¯t take me more than a day to find out any information you need.¡± Layla rolled her eyes. ¡°What information could he possibly have that would be beneficial to me? I¡¯m interested in Dante himself, and if we did whatyousuggest, it would only destroy any relationship he has with House Calman.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t necessarily need to recruit him, there areotheroptions.¡± His tone of voice made his opinion on the matter clear. ¡°He is just a commoner, and he has no friends or family. Why would I risk doingthat,when I could have a fully capable and loyal servant instead? He couldn¡¯t possibly be challenging to win over, all we need to do is make him care about someone. If Mia would do her job right, this situation would already be settled.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re worried about recruiting him, then why aren¡¯tyoubuilding a relationship with him?¡± Layla let out a sigh. ¡°I¡¯ve tried, both Alexander and I have attempted to converse with him in the past few days, but he is still too guarded against us.¡± Sir Andres snorted. ¡°Perhaps in the future, you will handle similar situations with a bit more tact.¡± Those words were more than irritating. Even if she should have done better in handling Dante, it wasn¡¯t his place to say so. Layla indicated the report from Alazel. ¡°Did you read the report?¡± Sir Andres nodded. ¡°Yes, but it seemed like mostly nonsense.¡± ¡°Whether or not it¡¯s nonsense isn¡¯t important, is this¡­¡± She looked down to scan the report for a moment. ¡°Greggory Tibbott currently at the academy?¡± Sir Andres¡¯ face turned to disgust. ¡°Yes, he has been making quite the scene in yard three. He seems to think much of himself.¡± ¡°If he fought Dante, who would win?¡± Sir Andres didn¡¯t hesitate. ¡°Dante, without a doubt.¡± Layla smiled. ¡°That¡¯s good, find a way to have him matched up with Dante in the arena. Do whatever you have to do. I¡¯m interested to see how Dante will behave in the situation.¡± She tossed him a stone. ¡°Have someone record the fight so that I can watch it later. Go, immediately.¡± She would have preferred to take a more hands on approach in recruiting Dante, but she simply didn¡¯t have the time at the moment. The damn headmaster was causing her too many problems. Sir Andres gave a formal bow. ¡°Yes, my lady.¡±
Greggory Tibbott ¡°Wow, you''retoostrong!¡± Kayla was feeling his muscular arm as they walked together on the way to the arena. It was nice to finally have some of the recognition he deserved. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you are actually going to let me see you fight in the arena!¡±Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Greggory puffed his chest, giving the girl a proper look at his fine physique. ¡°Of course, if I don¡¯t put those commoners in their place, then who will? I¡¯ll show them the power that only we of noble blood possess.¡± Kayla hid her mouth with her hand, giggling at his silver-tongued words and quick wit. He used the moment to look down her blouse and see what he would be working with. Not bad, but definitely not the best either. Kayla was from House Stavins in the Outer region, and resided in Housing District 1. She wasn¡¯t bad overall, a bit thin for his liking, but she would do for now. Just another stepping stone for his glorious rise to prominence within the academy, and eventually, the Outer region. Because he was so kind and magnanimous, he would most likely keep her around. He wouldn¡¯t forget the first person who saw his excellence for what it was. Perhaps if she played her cards right, he would even keep her as a concubine. Kayla saw him staring at her chest and gave him a smile, her lips twitching slightly. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t delay, Ican¡¯twaitto see your performance.¡± She walked faster, now walking ahead of him. Greggory watched Kayla¡¯s shapely body move through the crowd as he adjusted his pants to relieve some of the strain. He appreciated her excitement and would be sure to reward her for it later that night. With a smile on his face, he stepped forward full of confidence, eager to show his prowess in the arena.
¡°Alright, you can go.¡± Both Dante and Will sighed in relief, another tortuous day of training was finished. The training was nowhere near as bad as it was the first day. Now they were only hit by Archie if their form was off¡­ even if only slightly. If one thing made the training more bearable, it was Will¡¯s change of attitude. The boy had gone from all smiles the first day, which had left him unsettled, to complete seriousness after Archie beat them unconscious. The two of them had even come together in their hatred of Archie and had formed an unspoken alliance. For some reason, their training also lasted longer than everyone else¡¯s. Archie was adamant about physical fitness, forcing them to run foratleastan hour after every class. He didn¡¯t know how he felt about his instructor. On one hand, he completely hated him. Archie was sadistic. On the other hand, both he and Will were much further along on their sword forms than the other students, despite starting a day behind. Not only that, but he was already seeing results from the daily running, even though he had only been doing it for a few days. Walking over to his usual meeting spot with Mia, he was surprised to see that she wasn¡¯t there. It was the first time that she hadn¡¯t been waiting for him after training in the entire week he had been at the academy. He looked around for a moment, checking to see if she was in a different spot, but after not finding her, he found a place to sit and wait. He waited for an hour before a very flustered Mia ran up to him and bowed. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry that I was late, the servants of Housing District 1 had a meeting for regulation changes.¡± Dante looked at her curiously. ¡°Its fine, I wasn¡¯t waiting long. You know how Archie is.¡± In the past few days he had done some ¡®investigating¡¯ about what knowledge servants in the academy might have... In other words, he had asked Archie and Will during training. Apparently, servants shouldn¡¯t have any idea how to use a manipulation orb, unless they are specifically trained to do so in order to perform a specialized task. After learning that, he was pretty certain Mia wasn¡¯tjusthis servant. It definitely didn¡¯t stop him from asking her for tips regarding the manipulation orb though. Mia was a wealth of information. Because of Mia, he was far ahead of Will already, and even Archie was stunned by his progress. In only a week he could almost condense the world essence within the orb. His new knowledge on Mia also helped with their relationship itself. Now that he knew exactly what kind of situation he was in, he outright rejected any of her more ¡®intimate¡¯ offers. Since then, everything had gone smoothly. The reason she hated him so much before became evident, and after he rejected her offers, she didn¡¯t seem to mind him that much. It still troubled him that she was ordered to do it at all though. He wasn¡¯t sure who was making her do it, but when he saw Alexander and Layla after making the discovery, he couldn¡¯t help but feel slightly disgusted with them. ¡°How did the meeting go?¡± Mia rubbed her collarbone and looked away from him. ¡°Rough¡­¡± She cleared her throat. ¡°You haven¡¯t fought in the arena yet, why don¡¯t you try it today?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± He still had the sword and daggers he had borrowed from Layla and Alexander with him, and therefore didn¡¯t have a problem immediately going to the arena. He had been meaning to try out the arena anyway, but had been preoccupied in the last few days. Between training, selling all of his belongings, and practicing with the manipulation orb, he didn¡¯t have the time. Mia let out a breath and gave him a genuine smile. ¡°Let¡¯s go then!¡± Thankfully, the arena wasn¡¯t far from the training yard. It seemed that someone had put some forethought into the academy¡¯s layout, and any place that had a risk of injury wasn¡¯t far from the hospitals. It didn¡¯t take them long to find the bronze rank stadium. The solo bronze arena, although the smallest, was by far the busiest arena in the entire academy. Even with almost no spectators, there were at least a thousand students waiting in line to fight at any given time. All of them were trying to get enough credits to stay in the academy for another quarter. Even though there were different lines divided by housing districts, just looking at the line of commoners that seemed to wrap around the entire stadium gave him a headache. He couldn¡¯t imagine waiting in line for hours just to get in a fight that could end your life. They made their way to the Housing District 1 line, which was completely empty. He was actually a bit disappointed that there wasn¡¯t anyone waiting in line, waiting a bit longer didn¡¯t sound that bad¡­ The reason he wanted to wait, at least for a while, was because couldn¡¯t help but feel nervous about fighting in the arena. It wasn¡¯t that he was worried about fighting a strong opponent. Not only was that unlikely, but even if he did, he could always surrender or use blink if he had no other option. No, his misgivings had to do with standing in front of a large crowd of onlookers. Dante walked up to the attendant with Mia and handed over his identification card. As soon as the attendant looked at it, then over towards Mia, his eyebrows rose. ¡°One moment, my lord. Since this is your first fight, I need to register you before you enter the arena.¡± The attendantrushedback into the arena. He couldn¡¯t tell for sure because it was his first time at the arena, but something about the haste of the attendant didn¡¯t feel right. He turned to Mia, checking her reaction to see if the attendant was acting normal. Either she didn¡¯t notice him, or just refused to look at him, because she was staring at something off in a different direction. Yes, something is definitely off. He was going to ask Mia about it, when the attendant came rushing back, completely flustered. ¡°Right this way, my lord. I was just checking to make sure the previous fight had ended. You may now enter the arena.¡± Dante stood there unmoving for a moment, the attendants lying was more than just sloppy. Judging by the way things had progressed, Mia was also in on whatever was going on as well. Dante let out a deep sigh. Someone with influence in the academy clearly wanted him to fight in the arena. ¡°Please lead the way.¡± The attendant led him down a tunnel toward the center of the stadium. The tunnel itself seemed to be slanted, getting lower the closer he got to the fighting pit. At one point there was a sharp turn, and the tunnel that the three of them were walking down connected to a second tunnel. Not only was the new tunnel far larger, but it was also filled with people. It seemed like they were now at the fighting pit¡¯s entrance. A few nobles were waiting at the very front of the line, mostly from Housing District 3, but there were a few from Housing District 2 as well. The attendant that was leading them wasted no time, ushering Dante into the arena. Mia hesitated for a moment before speaking. ¡°I¡¯ll be watching from the stands.¡± He didn¡¯t answer her. He didn¡¯t want to. He couldn¡¯t help but feel so¡­ manipulated, and he knew she was a part of it. It shouldn¡¯t surprise him in the slightest, he knew that she was at the very least spying on him, but he couldn¡¯t help but feel wronged. And for some reason, at the same time, he was happy that she would be watching. ¡°You may now enter the arena, my lord. In the bronze rank arena, the fight begins as soon as both combatants enter the fighting pit. To keep fights fair, your opponent will be randomly selected from the line on the opposite side, and the fight will only end when one of you either surrenders or can no longer continue.¡± Dante drew his sword as he stepped into the fighting pit. He wasn¡¯t going to be caught off-guard by a surprise attack from a magic Classification or a ranged combatant. He prepared himself for every possibility. Or at least he thought he had prepared himself for every possibility. Dante stopped mid-step as he entered the fighting pit. Waiting for him in the center, was Greggory, the rotund lord¡¯s son from Alazel who had sent men to kill him. Chapter 22 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 22 When Dante saw Greggory, he hesitated, unsure of what to do. He even contemplated immediately surrendering, but threw the idea out as soon as Greggory opened his mouth. ¡°It¡¯syou!?¡± Greggory¡¯s voice was filled with disbelief. Then he laughed uproariously, just like he had when he didn¡¯t receive a Classification. ¡°Is this some kind of joke?¡± That was actually a great question. Was this some kind of joke? Dante looked around at the surrounding crowd, trying to identify any familiar faces and get a better idea of why he might be in this situation. The only person he recognized was Mia, he didn¡¯t see anyone else that he knew. ¡°Kayla, watch me vanquish this devil spawn!¡± Greggory wasn¡¯t even paying attention to him anymore, he was just shouting at some girl that was sitting in the Housing District 1 seating area. His mind was reeling, he couldn¡¯t understand why someone would want him to fight Greggory or their reasoning behind it. He didn¡¯t even consider Greggory being behind it in some way. Greggory¡¯s pleasant surprise at seeing him in the arena was indication enough that he had no knowledge of the setup. Not only that, but by looking over Greggory¡¯s uniform, he could tell that Greggory was from Housing District 3. There was no way he had enough influence within the academy to organize the fight. The girl that Greggory was talking to was from Housing District 1 though¡­ All he knew was that her name was Kayla, but she and Greggory clearly knew each other. Unless she was a friend from when the Tibbott¡¯s were in the Outer region, he could assume she was in on this as well. Regardless, she was someone he needed to have his guard up around. The only people who he could think of that could possibly have known about his relationship with Greggory while also having influence in the academy were Alexander or Layla. But even that was somewhat unlikely, he had only told them that he had lived in Alazel for a few years. But no matter if it was Alexander and Layla, or someone else altogether, he still didn¡¯t knowwhy.There was no reason for him to fight Greggory. It could be a test, but he couldn¡¯t see what they could be testing. There was also a possibility that someone was setting him up. They might assume he would immediately kill Greggory, bringing forth the wrath of his father, but that also seemed like a stretch. Besides, Mia had told him that he could kill anyone who wasn¡¯t in Housing District 1 or 2 without any real repercussions. The last possibility that he could think of was that someone was trying to do him a favor. Maybe they were handing him Greggory so that he could kill him, and therefore cause him to owe whoever set it up a favor. Every reason he could think of seemed unlikely, and this entire situation was bothering him. He was prepared to be manipulated by nobles in his attempt to gain power from them. Even expected it when he went to the academy with Alexander and Layla. It seemed like it was a fair trade, getting used to further someone else¡¯s agenda in return for strength, but he hadn¡¯t been expecting anything like this. It felt too¡­ personal. Like he was beingtoyedwith for no real purpose. Greggory had none of his misgivings. ¡°Do you have any idea how much trouble you caused me? I wasfloggedand sent to this damned academy because of you.¡± He started laughing again. ¡°You can¡¯t run away from me now!¡± Greggory began walking toward Dante with an attempted swagger, his sword cutting through the air in an effort to intimidate him. But in reality, he just looked slow and clumsy. ¡°I¡¯m going to make you suffer before you die.¡± Dante just stared at him. Is he stupid? Even if he could kill me, if he doesn¡¯t do it immediately I can just surrender¡­ Greggory¡¯s stupidity aside, he was running out of time. Greggory was coming toward him and he still had no idea what course of action he should take. There was too much information that he didn¡¯t have. No matter which way he handled the fight it could cause problems for him. Dante took a deep breath, then released it slowly. If he didn¡¯t know what he was supposed to do, and wasn¡¯t told what he should do, he would do whathewanted. What that meant, he still wasn¡¯t sure. Greggory, who was now only a few feet away, elicited another laugh. ¡°Look at yourself, scared shitless and absolutely pathetic. I¡¯ll teach you to respect your betters before I kill you.¡±Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Greggory wasted no time, stepping to Dante while swinging his sword. The slash was aimed at his left side. It was a non-lethal attack. Clearly Greggory meant it when he said that he would make him suffer before he killed him. So slow¡­ Since he had gotten his Status, he had never fought someone who moved so slowly. It was almost like something in the air was obstructing his movement. Greggory¡¯s Dexterity and Agility must have been below even the average. Reaching out with his left hand, Dante grabbed Greggory¡¯s wrist. He stopped the swinging sword immediately. So weak¡­ It didn¡¯t feel like Greggory leveled his Classifications at all. The two of them looked at each other for a moment, both stunned by how easily he had stopped the sword. Dante hesitated. Killing Greggory would be so easy. Greggory¡¯s sword was held immobile to the side, while his was free and ready to attack in his right hand. But he still wasn¡¯t sure if he should do it. He had never killed in cold blood, only when he had felt that his life was in danger. Even if Greggory was trying to kill himandtried to have him killed, he wasn¡¯t really a threat now that he no longer lived in Alazel. Despite that, hereallywanted to kill Greggory. Perhaps I shouldn¡¯t¡­ His line of thinking stopped when a stunned Greggory opened his mouth. ¡°I surren-¡± After being manipulated so much that day, Greggory was trying to take his only real decision away. Just the thought of it filled him with anger. He squeezed the wrist in his grip as hard as he could, not stopping until he heard an audible crack, cutting Greggory off with his own screams. As the sound of a squealing pig being led to slaughter filled the stadium, Dante brought the sword in his right hand across Greggory¡¯s neck, only catching a brief glimpse of the horror on his face before completely decapitating him. Everything after that seemed to happen in slow motion. Greggory¡¯s head was the first thing to hit the ground, launching from the body and thumping against the ground as it rolled a few feet away from his body. Dante stared at the stump where Greggory¡¯s head used to be as it squirted blood in rhythm to his still beating heart, while the body itself still stayed standing, as if not realizing it had lost its head. He watched as the entire scene unfolded before him in fascination, which surprised him. Usually, after he killed he felt sick, or even disgusted. Just the thought of taking someone¡¯s life usually sent a shiver down his spine. But something about killing Greggory felt so¡­good. His brief moment of contemplation ended when gravity caught up with Greggory¡¯s body. The rotund corpse went crashing to the ground, bringing him back to the present. That was when he noticed that the arena was completely silent. Dante looked away from the corpse, taking in his surroundings. When he saw the crowd, he found something that he was familiar with; fear. It was different though, not the fear he was used to. Usually, when people were afraid of him, it was as if they were afraid to touch or look at him. But the fear he was getting from the crowd was a different kind. It was true fear. As if they were afraid of him even noticing them due to his cruelty. It seemed that his performance, mixed with his appearance, had a large impact on the crowd. He could only imagine what that had just looked like. Decapitating a random opponent in the arena for no apparent reason while the opponent was screaming and trying to surrender. He decided he didn¡¯t dislike being looked at like that, it was a marked improvement from the looks of disgust and hatred that he usually got, and not unpleasant overall. There were only two exceptions in the crowd. The first was Kayla, the girl who was with Greggory. Her face was covered with a massive smile as she took in Greggory¡¯s dead corpse. That seemed to answer one of his questions, she clearly wasn¡¯t Greggory¡¯s friend. The second exception was Mia. When he glanced at her, she wouldn¡¯t even look him in the eye. Dante let out a sigh and turned to walk back through the fighting pit¡¯s entrance. When he got there the attendant from earlier, who was now thoroughly flustered from watching his performance, ran up to him. ¡°M-My Lord, please wait. Y-You have not received your credits yet.¡± He had completely forgotten about credits in the aftermath of the fight. In his mind, it wasn¡¯t even an arena fight anyways, just someone else¡¯s spectacle that he was forced to take part in. After handing the attendant his identification card, the man ran off, eager to be away from him. A few minutes he came back with his identification card. ¡°Here you are, two credits for a w-win in the bronze arena.¡± The man nervously cleared his throat. ¡°A-Also, you c-can¡¯t come back to the arena for three days during your p-probation for k-killing in the arena.¡± Dante reached forward to grab the identification card, which caused the attendant to flinch away. The man was clearly afraid of him, but he couldn¡¯t understand why. Maybe killing people in the arena was rarer than he had thought. That, or the man was worried that he wouldn¡¯t take kindly to his earlier deception if he found out. After taking his identification card back, and checking to make sure he got his credits, he began to walk out of the tunnel. He was slightly disappointed at not seeing how the credits were added to the card, but it made sense. Layla and Alexander said it was done through an enchantment, so if the enchantment became known, someone would try and exploit it. When he got out of the tunnel, and back out to the streets of the academy, he found Mia waiting for him. He didn¡¯t say anything to her, just began walking down the streets of the academy and back to Housing District 1. She quickly caught up to him, and the two of them walked in silence. Their silence was awkward, and he didn¡¯t understand why he was upset with her. He knew that they had no real relationship together, she was only doing her job. If anything, he was the one being unreasonable. Still¡­ in the last few days, he couldn¡¯t help but feel like they had at least started to form some sort of a friendship¡­ but he was probably misreading the situation, he had no experience in that regard. ¡°Why?¡± His curiosity got the better of him. Mia looked at him, opening her mouth as if she would give a quick reply, then closed her mouth and looked away. ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± The words came out as a barely audible mutter. Dante let out a breath that he didn¡¯t know he was holding. For some reason, her not knowing made the situation seem better, if only slightly. Chapter 23 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 23 Layla Calman Layla¡¯s eyebrows lifted as she watched Dante savagely cut off the boy¡¯s head. Then without any change in demeanor, turn and walk out of the stadium as if nothing happened. That¡¯s certainly one way to handle it. ¡°I must say, I¡¯m pleasantly surprised. I didn¡¯t think Dante had¡­thatin him.¡± She ceased feeding world essence into the memory stone. Sir Andres stood across from her, stoically making his report. ¡°Yes. Surprising, to say the least. Based on thatperformance,and the report that we received on him, I think he may be¡­unstable. I suggest we collar him before he has a chance to become a threat.¡± She could feel her eyebrows narrowing at his suggestion. ¡°Why would we do that? He is perfect.¡± ¡°Perfect?¡± ¡°I have been looking for a retainer to groom. All of my current retainers dislike getting their hands dirty...¡± She shot a glare at Sir Andres. ¡°And mother won¡¯t let me keep any of hers. Dante has the demeanor; now I just need his loyalty.¡± Layla drummed her fingers on the desk in front of her. ¡°Speaking of which, did everything go smoothly in setting up the fight?¡± ¡°Yes. According to Mia¡¯s report, he didn¡¯t suspect anything.¡± Layla smiled. ¡°Good, we will slow things down for now. Too much, and Dante may get suspicious. Besides, I don¡¯t have the time for this at the moment. You may leave.¡± ¡°Yes, my lady.¡± The Sir Andres gave a bow and turned to leave her office.
¡°How?¡± Will turned to Archie. ¡°This isn¡¯t fair; I¡¯ve been working on my world essence manipulation just as much as he has.¡± Archie just scratched his chin with a smile as he looked at the manipulation orb in Dante¡¯s hand. ¡°Not bad, not bad. It¡¯s even denser than most when they first condense it.¡± Without taking his eyes off of it, he addressed Will. ¡°I would suggest you start acting a little nicer to the boy, unless you want two people kicking your ass during your swordsmanship training.¡± Dante couldn¡¯t help but smile at Archie¡¯s praise. In the three days that he had been banned from the arena, he had solely focused on training with his manipulation orb. Apparently, Mia had been holding out on him before. Her peace offering after the situation with Greggory had been to help him with his training as much as possible. There were a few small bits of information that she gave him, like meditation exercises to help your focus and control slightly. But the day after he killed Greggory, she gave him a vital tip; spreading out his awareness to harness more world essence. Before he would just manipulate the world essence in the air around him that touched his skin directly. Mia¡¯s tip was to actually spread his awareness out so that he could ¡®feel¡¯ more world essence, and harness it even if it wasn¡¯t touching him directly. It was done by channeling your mana through your mind, then spreading it immediately through your body, and then outward. As long as you can maintain a connection to the mana once you send it out of your body, you can harness any world essence in its range. Even though it sounded simple, in practice it was extremely challenging. After two days of what felt like his mind being torn apart, he was finally able to increase his awareness to about half an inch away from his body. Despite that, the new training, combined with Mia¡¯s other techniques, not only almost doubled the amount of world essence he could harness, but it also significantly improved his control. The best part was that the mana cost was negligible. It was only a tiny fraction of the mana regenerated from his Wisdom attribute. Although, Mia had said that as his efficiency in the technique increased, and therefore the amount of mana he utilized increased as well, the mana drain would also rise along with it. It was only a short time after utilizing his new awareness that he was able to condense the world essence inside the manipulation orb. The process wasn¡¯t challenging, after he fed enough world essence into the manipulation orb, all he needed to do was force it to the center while trying not to let any slip out of his control.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. There was something strange about the world essence though, thefeelof it seemed to change as he added more to the orb. When he manipulated a small amount, it was easy to shape it exactly how he wanted. But the more world essence he added, the moreslipperythe world essence became. It was almost like the world essence was alive, and the more he added, and therefore the more sentient he made it, the harder it was to bend to his will. He cut off his connection to the essence in the manipulation orb, breaking Archie out of his trance. Archie turned to Will. ¡°Alright, get out of here. We haverealSwordsmanship training to do.¡± Will opened his mouth as if to say something, but then just let out a sigh of defeat and sullenly turned to leave. Archie watched the defeated Will walk off with a smile on his face. ¡°Yard boy! Bring me a few wooden swords.¡± No healer, thank the Goddess. As soon as the yard boy brought over the swords, Archie tossed one to him. ¡°Alright, let''s see what you¡¯ve got. Go ahead and fill it with world essence.¡± Dante just stared at him, unmoving. Whether he brought a healer or not, he didn¡¯t trust Archie at all. Archie was unbothered though, he just stared right back at him with a smile on his face. At some point, it became a contest. Neither of them were willing to give an inch to the other, and the two of them remained like that for several minutes, until he eventually gave in. ¡°No.¡± Archie¡¯s eyes widened in mock surprise. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, you''reafraid?¡± I''m not afraid, I just don¡¯t trust you¡­ He didn¡¯t answer him immediately. Instead, he thought about how he could ensure that he wouldn¡¯t end up with shards of wood lodged inside of him when training with Archie. He couldn¡¯t think of a single way, other than asking someone else, which didn¡¯t seem like an option. Letting out a sigh of defeat, he raised the sword and prepared to fill it with world essence when he was interrupted. ¡°Oh, by the way, it might be worth mentioning that you must first isolate the essence within the core of the blade, then let it seep out, or it¡¯ll explode again.¡± Dante just stared at him, eye twitching. How was that an afterthought? Taking another deep breath, he began to condense the world essence into the sword. It was different than the manipulation orb, but not substantially. There was far less resistance in the world essence as he pressed it through the hilt. But as he added more to the center of the sword, not allowing it to seep out, it became harder and harder to control. Archie observed his progress attentively. ¡°Good, good. Now, when you are about to lose control, allow the essence to seep out at the same rate you condense it.¡± He listened to what Archie said, as soon as it felt like the world essence would wrest control from him, he began to let it seep out. It came out from the tip of the sword, wisping out for a moment, then disappearing. ¡°No, no. That¡¯s all wrong, you need to let it seep out evenly, throughout the entire weapon.¡± Dante renewed his focus, trying to let it seep out evenly, and at the same rate he was feeding it in. It seemed almost impossible. After attempting world essence manipulation for himself, he realized what a monster Aiden really was, he had made it look so easy. Archie saw his struggle. ¡°Visualize the world essence within the weapon and think of the areas where the world essence is coming out as holes. Just evenly cover the condensed world essence with those holes, then adjust their size, so the total output will match the amount of world essence you¡¯re a pumping into the sword.¡± He took the instructor¡¯s advice, trying to add more ¡®holes¡¯ to the mass of world essence within the weapon. It wasn¡¯t difficult per say, just time-consuming. He added each new area where the world essence leaked one at a time, then adjusted the size of all of them until they leaked the same amount while also matching his world essence input before continuing. By the time he was done, face pale and coated with sweat, he was holding a sword that was leaking world essence. Leaking being the keyword. As soon as the essence left the sword, it wisped into the air and disappeared. ¡°Not bad, not bad. Now just don¡¯t let the world essence disappear after it is released from the sword.¡± How would that even be possible¡­? He could barely even hold the sword aloft, and the only reason he was able to stand was because he locked his knees, and now Archie wanted him to contain it around the sword as well? Dante gritted his teeth, focusing all his willpower on holding onto the leaking world essence. As he tried to grasp it, the condensed world essence within the sword began to slip out of his grasp. He was losing control, and his mind felt like it was tearing apart as he held on to the slipping world essence and tried to recondense it. While trying to recondense the world essence, he accidentally closed some of the holes where the world essence was leaking while still pumping the sword with more world essence. Shit. He lost control, there was way too much world essence in the sword, and there were no warning cracks this time. The world essence immediately blasted the sword apart, sending shards of wood everywhere. There was a moment of shock, where he didn¡¯t feel anything. He just looked down at the wooden handle in his hand. This time, it wasn¡¯t just the tip that exploded, but the entire blade. Goddess damn him. He could see the blood pouring down from his new wounds, and barely had a moment to look up and glare at Archie, who was now standing a reasonable distance away, before the pain took over him. Archie let out a laugh. ¡°You did better than I thought you would.¡± Archie turned toward the side of the yard. ¡°Healer!¡± He didn¡¯t have the energy, or the desire, to respond to the bastard. Instead, he allowed himself to fall to the floor as the pain washed over him, doing his best to slip into the painless abyss of unconsciousness. Chapter 24 Dante¡¯s Immortality - Chapter 24 The pain was the first thing he felt upon coming back into consciousness. Thankfully, it was receding. Opening his eyes, he saw a tired healer hunched over his body. Beads of sweat were rolling off of the man¡¯s pale forehead as he did his work. At least I''m not the only one who has to suffer. For some reason, knowing that he wasn¡¯t the only casualty of Archie¡¯s sadistic attitude made him feel slightly better. He closed his eyes and waited for the healer to finish. It was several minutes later before the panting healer spoke up. ¡°Alright. All done, milord.¡± Dante released a sigh. ¡°Thank you.¡± Sitting up and shaking off the exhaustion from the healing, Dante stood and walked to his meeting point with Mia. He had already made reservations for the combat simulation enchantment room, and even Archie couldn¡¯t kill his excitement. ¡°Dante!¡± Hearing his name being shouted out at the side of the yard, he turned and tried to identify the source of the noise. Will? From where the source of the noise was coming from he saw Will running across the yard toward him. Seeing him was slightly surprising, Will should have left over an hour ago. ¡°Wait up.¡± Will caught up with him and began to walk by his side. After sprinting through the yard, hisbreathing was completely normal and he wasn¡¯t tired at all, which was a testament to Archie¡¯s endurance training. He was caught off-guard by Will¡¯s sudden appearance, they had never said a word to each other outside of their training class, so he wasn¡¯t sure how he was supposed to react. ¡°Hey Will, what¡¯s up?¡± Will¡¯s expression dulled. ¡°Uh¡­ I was just wondering how your training went?¡± Dante blinked in surprise. If Will had really waited for him, he should have seen him almost kill himself. And if he did, what kind of question was that? ¡°It went well, until the sword exploded and I fainted from the pain and blood loss.¡± ¡°Oh right, sorry¡­¡± Will scratched his head, then cleared his throat. ¡°So, um. I was wondering¡­ if you could possibly, uh, help me out with my manipulation orb training?¡± How could a noble possibly need my help? Dante¡¯s head tilted slightly in confusion as he looked at Will. ¡°Don¡¯t you have anyone else to teach you?¡± The discomfort on Will¡¯s face was almost tangible. ¡°Not only have I been training almost nonstop, but I¡¯ve also hired the best tutors at the academy. But it doesn¡¯t matter what I do, the gap between our control just keeps increasing.¡± Will cleared his throat. ¡°If you were to help me, I would be willing to pay you the same rate as I pay the other tutors.¡± That gave him pause. Mia¡¯s teachings were far better than he thought if Will had been using the best tutors at the academy, the gap between them had been growing every day. Not only that, but Will was willing to pay to teach him¡­ but there was still something he needed more than money. He gave Will his friendliest smile. ¡°There''s no need to pay me, I¡¯ll do it for free.¡± Will had a look of disbelief on his face. ¡°You would do it for free?¡± He broke out into a broad grin. ¡°You¡¯re the best!¡± ¡°I would start today, but I have a simulation room reserved for training¡­ How about tomorrow after our Swordsmanship class?¡± Will hurriedly nodded. ¡°That sounds perfect, I¡¯ll see you tomorrow.¡± Without another word, Will turned and ran off. He was quite pleased with the new arrangement. Teaching Will some of the tricks that Mia had been giving to him wouldn¡¯t be challenging in the slightest. He was a bit disappointed about the missed opportunity to be paid for it though, but for the moment he needed something more than money; allies. So far it seemed that everyone he had met in the academy was against him in some way. Even Mia, who he was the closest to, was definitely keeping an eye on him for someone else. Even if he didn¡¯t get any money from teaching Will, at the very least Will would feel somewhat indebted to him. And even if he didn¡¯t, it would still give the two of them more time together to solidify their loose relationship. Although he didn¡¯t know Will that well, for a noble he seemed somewhat reliable and honest. His attitude seemed to be in stark contrast to the others from Housing District 1 that he had met thus far. ¡°What was that about?¡± Mia had seen the entire encounter with Will and seemed to be curious regarding what they had been talking about. ¡°Will is struggling with his manipulation orb training, so he was asking me for extra help.¡± A strange expression crossed Mia¡¯s face. ¡°Did you agree to help him?¡± Dante nodded. ¡°We are going to start tomorrow, I thought it would be a good way to build some kind of a friendship. Besides, teaching him shouldn¡¯t be too hard.¡± Mia¡¯s forehead creased as she heard his word¡¯s. ¡°Would it be possible for you to not teach him how to spread his awareness with Mana?¡± He looked at her curiously, thinking over the implications of her words. ¡°Is the technique one of House Calmans secrets?¡± Her gaze drifted slightly to the side. ¡°Something like that.¡± Seeing how serious she was, he nodded. ¡°Of course, I wouldn¡¯t teach him anything that you don¡¯t want me to.¡± A smile lit up her face. ¡°Thank you!¡± As if just remembering something, Mia quickly looked up toward the sun with a worried face, checking the time. ¡°Your Swordsmanship training took longer than we thought. There are only around thirty minutes until your session starts, we should hurry.¡± Dante cursed internally. Blowing himself up had taken up more time than he had thought. He had to pay for the room in advance so any of the time that he missed would be gone¡­ and it wasexpensive. Without a second thought, Dante grabbed Mia¡¯s arm and began to plow through the crowd. Thankfully, she didn¡¯t seem to object. The simulation enchantments were on the outskirts of the academy, and therefore about an hours¡¯ walk with light traffic. Now, when the foot traffic was at its densest, it would take even longer.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Pushing through the crowd actually went far better than he thought it. Only occasionally would someone be upset enough to stop and try to confront him. After they saw him, and his Housing District 1 uniform, they quickly shut their mouths and went about their business. Occasionally he seemed to be recognized from his fight at the arena. Those people stuck out because would turn around to curse him, see who he was, then immediately utter apologies with a pale face. This new fear that he was eliciting from others was far more useful than he had thought. The way they were treating him, by apologizing and running away, was definitely preferable to being cursed and chased away himself. When they finally made it to the leisure district, Dante heaved a sigh of relief. They made it in what he guessed to be forty minutes, only slowing down to a walk when Mia was too tired to keep up. He was still late, and had lost some of the money he had spent. But given the circumstances, he couldn''t help but be satisfied. The leisure district itself was exactly what it sounded like. Almost exclusively visited by nobles, it was where wealthy academy students would go to spend their free time. There were several inns, clubs, enchantment facilities, shops, and even brothels. He took it all in, it was the first time he had seen the district, and he couldn¡¯t help but be amazed at how lively it was. It seemed like everywhere he looked people were laughing or socializing with each other. There were similar districts located all over the academy that served the same purpose, but those were geared towards commoners or nobles with less overall wealth. Generally, he couldn¡¯t even afford those. He turned to Mia, who reserved the enchantment room, for directions. Without wasting any more of their precious time, Mia grabbed his hand and then began to drag him through the streets until they came upon a massive stone building. Dante stared at it in incredulity. It stood out like a fortress when compared to the other surrounding shops and inns. Guards were everywhere; by the gates, the entrances, armed with bows on the roof, and even patrolling the nearby roads. For a moment he thought Mia had brought him to the academy¡¯s garrison. He turned to Mia. ¡°What is this?¡± At his question, she just rolled her eyes. ¡°Relax, it takes alotof essence crystals to power all of these enchantments. If they didn¡¯t put specialized guards in place, they would get robbed by some enthusiastic noble family.¡± Specialized guards? He reexamined the building in front of him, there had to be over thirty guards in sight and he wasn¡¯t even inside yet. He found it hard to believe that they could all be specialized. Dante cleared his throat. ¡°Exactly how powerful is House Calman?¡± Mia didn¡¯t hesitate to answer. ¡°They are one of the top three powers in the Outer region, although between those powers they are probably the weakest¡­ House Ailloss and Ramotar have a far more stabilized position than House Calman. Not only are their histories richer and their resources a far greater, but they also control almost double the territory House Calman does in the Outer region.¡± He was going to open a new line of questions regarding the guards themselves, but Mia tugged on his sleeve and cut him off. ¡°You don¡¯t have time to gawk like a simpleton, we are already late.¡± Begrudgingly he had to admit that she was right¡­ but the sly insult was still unnecessary. They walked up to the group of guards watching the main entrance, and both of them handed over their identification cards. Access to the building was restricted to residents of Housing Districts 1 and 2. The only other way in was with a prearranged reservation. He, along with Mia as his servant, had no issue getting inside. They wouldn''t have even needed to get a reservation if he hadn''t insisted on getting a private room. The guards waved them through, and the two of them entered the fortress, and he immediately considered walking back out and skipping his reservation. Upon walking in, he saw four familiar faces, and he wasn¡¯t happy to see any of them. Standing in front of the reception desk, waiting to get in, were around a dozen nobles. The first three that immediately drew his eye were the bastards that mocked him when the seamstress measured him for his uniform. The fourth person he noticed, was Kayla. The girl that Greggory had been calling out to before their fight. It figures that they would be together¡­ As soon as Mia saw them, she glanced over at him to gauge his reaction, but there was no change in his expression. He had no time for them, he was already late. He and Mia stepped up behind them, waiting for them to finish so that they could speak to the receptionist. Things actually went surprisingly well, it seemed that they were only there on a whim, so as soon as they purchased a group room, an attendant walked up to lead them off. Or at least it did go well, until the tall and lanky noble from the tailoring shop glanced back and noticed him. He immediately started laughing, then nudged the other two. ¡°Look it¡¯s that skeleton.¡± The other two turned around, and when they saw him, they both grinned. The pudgy looking one was the first to speak up. ¡°Where¡¯ve you been hiding?¡± The other one, the one that he thought was almost ¡®perfect,'' was the last to speak. ¡°Ah, our new friend.¡± He smirked. ¡°We have been looking for you. Where did you wander off to?¡± He was the last to speak because as soon as Kayla saw what was going on her face contorted. She quickly stepped out of the crowd of nobles, discreetly motioned for the three of them to be quiet, then walked up to him. Kayla grabbed onto his arm with both hands, rubbing her cleavage against him, surprising not only him but all the other nobles who were also watching. ¡°Oh wow, I can''t believe I finally get to meet you! I saw your fight in the arena the other day, you were absolutely amazing!¡± She paused to smile at him. ¡°A group of us are going to do some combat simulations. Maybe you could come and give me some pointers?¡± One of her hands began to slide along his bicep, which was strange considering how thin he was. What in the hell is going on? Everyone aside from Mia watched dumbfounded. She just seemed annoyed. ¡°I''m sorry, my lord already has a reservation that he is late for, so he won''t be able to join you.¡± Kayla looked at him, as if checking to see if what Mia said was true. Then before he could confirm it, began to pout. ¡°Why don¡¯t you just come with us, I''m sure you would have more fun spending time with me instead of being alone with somecommonservant.¡± Something about the way she said that made him irritated. Dante clenched his teeth and forced a smile. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I already had plans.¡± He turned, trying to go and talk to the receptionist, but Kayla wouldn¡¯t let go. She looked at him with a downcast face. ¡°That¡¯s too bad, I wasreallylooking forward to seeing your moves up close.¡± Then her face lit up as if she had just thought of something. ¡°There is going to be a¡­ party at the Wise Prince Inn in three days. Since you can¡¯t come with us now, why don¡¯t you make it up to me by being my date?¡± Date? He was thoroughly flustered now. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that going to the party with Kayla would be a good idea. She was one of the people who had set him up in the arena, and although he thought Alexander and Layla were behind it, he still couldn¡¯t be sure. He also very much wanted to know who Mia was working for. He forced another smile. ¡°I would love to go with you.¡± ¡°Then it¡¯s settled¡­ but I still don¡¯t know your name?¡± He was somewhat surprised that she didn¡¯t already know it. ¡°It¡¯s Dante.¡± ¡°It¡¯s settled then, I¡¯ll send someone to collect you before the party in three days, it starts at eight.¡± She glanced at Mia, who now looked thoroughly displeased, and gave her a triumphant smile. ¡°I don¡¯t want to waste any more of your training time, so we will be off.¡± With that, she rejoined the group of nobles and disappeared with them down one of the corridors. Dante breathed out a sigh of relief. Now that he had handled that, he could finally use the battle simulation he was already paying for. He walked up to the receptionist. The woman behind the desk looked up and noticed him. ¡°How may I help you, my lord?¡± ¡°I¡¯m here to use a private room that I reserved.¡± She glanced down to look through the papers. ¡°What is the name of your reservation?¡± He had no idea, Mia had made the reservation. He turned back to see what she was doing. ¡°Mia?¡± Mia was just standing there, staring blankly at him. ¡°Sorry about that, the reservation name is Dante.¡±
Kayla Stavins Jack turned to look back at her. ¡°What in the hell was that?¡± That question grabbed the attention of everyone else around them. Clearly, they were all thinking the same thing. Kayla puffed out her chest in triumph. ¡°That freakish looking boy has the interest ofLaylaCalman, and now he is going to be mine.¡± Jack just snorted. ¡°As if Layla would let you have anything that she wants.¡± Kayla swatted him playfully. ¡°She¡¯s not interested in him likethat,you moron.¡± Thomas was clearly confused; his eyebrows drew together. ¡°Then why else would she be interested in him?¡± Kayla could feel the corner of her mouth quirk up. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but I''m going to find out.¡± Chapter 25 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 25 The attendant opened up the door and turned back to him. ¡°Your private room, my lord. You have two hours and twenty-seven minutes until the end of your session.¡± The attendant¡¯s words felt like a dagger plunging directly into his heart. He had paid a full 60 silvers for just three hours in the room, so missing a little over thirty minutes had been slightly more than a ten-silver waste. Money had never really meant much to him. In the past, it was just something he had collected for no particular reason. But since he came to the academy, and couldactuallybuy things, he had learned to cherish every copper. And he had, he hadn¡¯t spent any of the money he had gotten from selling the items that he had taken off of the archers, which was about 20 silver coins and a few coppers. He hadn¡¯t thought that he could have gotten that much, but the massive number of combatants at the academy meant a shortage of weapons. He had felt quite pleased with himself and his newly acquired wealth, or at least did, until Mia brought reality down upon him. She was the one who told him that a private room cost a full 20 silvers an hour. Even though he could have gone to a group room like Kayla and the rest of the nobles for as little as 2 silvers an hour, that really wasn¡¯t an option. He would have been too restricted by trying to hide his Classifications. He thought about creating some swords and then selling them, but there wasn¡¯t a way that he could do that without drawing Mia¡¯s attention. Begrudgingly, he then went and sold his enchanted stone, foronly1 gold coin. Not only was Mia completely useless when it came to haggling prices, which surprised him, but the amount he was able to sell the stone for at the academy was significantly lower than it should have been. Enchantments at the academy, and even Kenguard, just weren¡¯t as rare as they were in the rest of the Outer Edge region. If he were anywhere else, he could have gotten upwards of 5 gold for it. With a slightly sullen demeanor, Dante began to walk through the door that the attendant was holding for him when he noticed Mia walking up behind him. He turned to her and scratched the back of his head, slightly embarrassed by the situation. ¡°Uh, maybe¡­¡± She seemed to see the hesitation on his face and spoke up immediately with arms crossed. ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting for you in the main lobby.¡± She then turned dramatically and walked back down the hallway they had come from. What was that? He couldn¡¯t understand why she was so irritated with him, it seemed like as soon as they entered the building, she was in a foul mood, which was a first since he had met her. Dante just shrugged, then walked into the enchantment room. The room itself seemed¡­ problematic to use, and both the attendant and Mia had already left him, so he was completely on his own. It was filled entirely with different runes, lines, and symbols. Their blue glow covered almost every inch of the room, including the walls and the ceiling. After seeing it, the price made much more sense. The upkeep cost in essence crystals must have been ridiculous if this was only one of many rooms. On one side, there was a large panel that jutted out from the wall. It seemed like that was the control area for the enchantment. Dante walked up and inspected it. I should have tried a cheaper room to learn how to use this first¡­ There were a few labels on the enchantment controls, so he wasn¡¯t entirely lost, but time was money. He looked the four labels over for a moment; Combatant, Speed, Offensive Capability, and Constitution. Each of the controls had six blank dots surrounding them in a circle. Starting with the Combatant control, which was furthest to the left, he fed world essence into it. One of the dots surrounding it lit up blue. Shortly after, the entire room lit up brightly, then dulled as a blue glow appeared in the shape of a human at the center of the room. As the glowing room continued to dull the figure grew more corporeal, and even though it was slightly transparent, he could see the blank features of it as it became more solid. Alexander had called them apparitions, and he couldn¡¯t help but think the name fit rather well. That done, he fed world essence into the Speed control until the blue light lit up, then looked over to the apparition. Nothing happened. Curious, he stepped closer to it. It seemed that there was a safe zone around the control panel because as soon as he stepped toward it, the apparition came to life. He wasn¡¯t sure what he had expected since he hadn¡¯t added any Offensive Capability, but when the apparition fled from him, he just stared at it dumbly. The apparition was slow, even though it was trying to run, so he guessed it had about half the average agility at around five or six. If each dot increased the speed by the same amount, they could be far faster than he could hit at six dots. Creating a sword, Dante walked up to it and slashed lightly. The apparition instantly burst into blue shards that flew everywhere, then those shards turned to mist and were sucked back into the enchantment. The room glowed blue, and a new apparition appeared in the center of the room, instantly fleeing from him. Not bad. He walked back over to the control panel, then added one dot to both Constitution and Offensive Capability. There was no change when he added to the Constitution, but when he added a point to the Offensive Capability the room flashed for a brief moment, and then a blue dagger appeared in the apparition¡¯s hand. Interested, Dante stepped toward the apparition. It immediately charged at him, dagger first. He gritted his teeth and allowed it to stab him, curious about what would happen. When the dagger collided with his chest, nothing happened. The blade just bounced off. Slightly disappointed he walked back to the control panel, then bumped up the Offensive Capability to three dots. This time, when the room flashed the dagger in its hand morphed into a sword. Taking a deep breath, Dante stepped toward it again, and this time when the apparition attacked him, it was far more intimidating because itsskillwith the weapon had noticeably increased. He knew because instead of running at him point first, like it did with the dagger, the apparition feinted to one side, and then slashed his other side. Although he flinched when the sword literally went through his chest, he felt nothing. When the sword got about halfway through his body, the apparition suddenly burst apart, just like it had when he destroyed it earlier. He looked down where the sword had cut his chest, every part of his skin or clothing where the sword would have pierced him was glowing blue. The apparition had burst apart after it ¡®killed¡¯ him, which also wasn¡¯t very realistic when compared to a real fight, but given the circumstances, he decided that it was for the best. The apparition reappeared in the middle, and he quickly stepped back to the control panel before it could attack him again. Now that he had gotten the hang of things, he took the world essence out of the Offensive Capability control. Even though he wanted to practice actual combat, there was still too much he didn¡¯t know about his skills. Next, he set the Constitution to two dots. If Constitution was like the others controls, that would be about average for someone who didn¡¯t gain Constitution from their Classification. After that, he turned off the Speed. Completely immobilizing the apparitions. Then went to the Combatant control and set it to the maximum six dots. The room flashed, and he now had six immobile apparitions with average Constitution. Pleased with his work, he opened up his Status and checked his first skill, Blink. Blink: Manipulate the power of space to teleport yourself or an object a short distance away. Cost: 30 Mana Range: up to 11 Feet He hadn¡¯t had time to really test the ability as much as he would have liked. Since leaving Alazel, it seemed like he was always on the run or with someone who he needed to keep his Classification hidden from. The first thing he really needed to test was the ¡®object¡¯ part of the description. Dante threw his sword a few feet across the room. Then, focusing on it, tried to Blink it back to himself. Nothing happened. He didn¡¯t know how to proceed, the usual ¡®awareness¡¯ he had, which gave him a feeling of being able to Blink anywhere in his range as long as he focused his mana, wasn¡¯t useful when trying to Blink an object. Dante walked over and picked up the weapon. He examined it for a moment, then pondered over how he could Blink it. Ithadto be possible, it was in the skill description. Then again, maybe it only meant the objects were directly touching him. Like a sword he was wielding, or the clothing he was wearing, he already knew those were teleported with him. That line of thinking gave him an idea. Focusing on the location he wanted to Blink to, he slowly channeled the mana required. But this time, instead of releasing the mana directly from his body, and then into the skill; he first forced it into the sword andthenthe skill.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. It took him longer than usual, a few seconds to slowly and carefully push the mana into the sword, but he got the desired result. The sword in his hand vanished, then reappeared across the room. Dante smiled, then checked his mana. It had cost him the full 30 mana to Blink the sword, which was disappointing, but at the same time exciting. If the cost didn¡¯t shrink when he Blinked smaller items, then it might not increase when he Blinked larger items. Another few minutes of testing, and waiting for his Mana to come back, he finally got the hang of it and was able to Blink the sword as quickly as he was able to Blink himself. He was somewhat disappointed with the Skill. Blinking objects away wasn¡¯t nearly as useful as Blinking objects to him. But then again¡­ Dante swung his arm as if throwing the blade, but right before releasing it, he Blinked it right in front of the apparition. The swords shot out and completely destroyed the apparition, which he guessed to have around 10 Constitution. Happy with the result, he continued to Blink swords for a few more minutes, getting a feel for the timing. He was quite glad he had discovered that momentum carries over when he used Blink. That was something that could easily kill him if he wasn''t careful¡­ what he needed now was a way to counteract that momentum. He pocketed that thought away for later. Not bad though, I can use this against pure magic Classifications to get through their shields. Thinking about magic shields he had an interesting thought, he knew that he could Blink behind objects, but wasn¡¯t sure if he could go through walls or barriers. Closing his eyes and focusing on his Blink awareness, Dante slowly walked to the door he had entered the room through. As soon as it reached the wall, the awareness stopped. Dante frowned. Then, not giving up, walked all the way to the door. He couldn¡¯t feel anything past it. Even if he could, he wouldn¡¯t have actually tried to Blink through it. Regardless, it was something to be tested later when he was alone. If he couldn¡¯t Blink out of a room, it would be a major weakness that someone could exploit. It was likely possible to box him in with mana shields if they covered all sides. It just meant that keeping Blink hidden to use as a last resort was paramount. Now done with Blink, Dante opened back up his skill menu and examined Create Blade¡¯s description, looking for clues. Create Blade: Create a permanent bladed weapon of choice with an average quality. Cost: up to 60 Mana There wasn¡¯t really much to gleam off of the skill description. Regardless, he wasn¡¯t going to get many opportunities to experiment with it in the near future. One thing he knew so far was that all of the weapons he created seemed to be either iron or steel, and despite trying, he couldn¡¯t change it. He really had no idea how to tell which material it was, but if he got some time away from Mia he could bring something he created to a blacksmith to ask. After that realization, Dante began to create different weapons from his imagination in every shape and size. He made a few discoveries. The first development was that he did actually need a blade on whatever he created, but that seemed to be the only limitation. Spears, for example, required sharp edges on the spear tip to qualify, it couldn¡¯t just come to a point from a round shaft. But an easy workaround he had found was making a three-sided shaft that came to a point. The as long as he sharpened the edges before they came to a point it would be created. Even though he still wasn¡¯t sure how it was useful, the information was still helpful. Another thing he discovered was that he could add to his weapons after creating them. He just had to think about the weapon in his hand, then create a blade that could be attached to it in his head. The Mana cost was still 60 to maintain the quality of the new attachment, but it was possible that he could add his blades to other items that weren¡¯t created by him as well. It was something that he needed to test further, but he had no items to test it on at the moment. After that, he tried to test the upward limitations of his Create Blade skill. He started by trying to create a sword that was about twice his height and far wider than himself. He fed the mana into the thought, but nothing happened. Dante looked around at the floor, pondering. There were dozens of weapons all over the floor of different shapes and sizes, the skill had seemed limitless, but it seemed that there was a size limit¡­ He decided to start over. Without much effort, he broke up all the blades surrounding him into nothingness. Deciding to start big and work his way down to find the size limit, he tried to create a sword of similar size to the one that failed, but only slightly smaller. He was surprised when a behemoth of a weapon smashed into the enchanted flood with a loud bang. The crashing noise terrified him, and he instantly broke up the sword, then carefully examined the floor to see if he had accidentally broken the enchantment. Thankfully, everything was fine underneath the sword. It seemed that the rooms were built to withstand substantial abuse. Heaving a sigh of relief Dante then thought over the results of his last experiment. He hadn¡¯t expected a sword that was only slightly smaller than the one he failed to have actually been created, he was just trying to be thorough. Still, it was hard to believe he found the exact size limit of his Create Blade skill on his second attempt. That seemed unlikely. Deciding to try again, he fed mana into a sword the size of the one that had failed. Surprisingly, it worked. Now nothing seemed to make sense. Holding his breath in anticipation, he tried to create another sword, slightly larger this time. Failed. Dante, now confused, thought it over for a moment while his Mana regenerated, then had an idea. He broke up the large swords, then began to make regular sized swords for 5 mana each. It took a few minutes, and around fifty swords, but eventually he started to fail. Everything made more sense now. There wasn¡¯t a size limit, but an overall limit on the amount of metal he could create. It didn¡¯t seem like something that would catch him off-guard in a fight since he could produce so many weapons, but it was something to be mindful of. Dante took a moment to consider the other implications of his discovery, then cursed his stupidity. He had thrown away at least three different weapons since he had left Alazel. He didn¡¯t think much of it, breaking them up didn¡¯t seem necessary when he thought there was no limit to the number of blades he could create, but now it would limit his overall abilities if he didn¡¯t track them down and break them up. Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down, he decided to close his eyes and try to break them up from a distance, he still wasn¡¯t sure what the range was. Usually, to break up one of his swords, he just had to feel the connection between them and sever it. It wasn¡¯t hard to do, he had always had a close connection to weapons in general after getting his Blader Classification, but the ones he created seemed to have a stronger link. Dante closed his eyes, trying to identifyhowhe could feel them by using the swords scattered around him. Nothing he could think of seemed to increase that feeling. Eventually, he tried one of Mia¡¯s tricks. Spreading his Mana through his mind, then outward to increase his awareness. Then, when in that state, he focused on the connection between him and his weapons. It took a few more valuable minutes, but eventually, that connection became far clearer. Almost like the weapons were connected by strings that were tethered to him. He almost cut all of those strings, so that the weapons would break up, but decided against it so that he could be sure that he got the swords that he had left out in the wilderness. Dante paused his concentration then broke up the swords that were scattered in the room around him, then reentered his state of awareness. He let out a breath of relief as he entered the state of focus and could still feel three ¡®strings¡¯ connecting him to the weapons that he created. Without hesitation, he severed his connection to them and broke up the weapons. Dante looked at the timer on the wall. Still an hour and a half left. Deciding that he had done all that he could with Create Blade, he pulled up his skill menu to examine his Blade Dancer passive. Blade Dancer (Passive): Increase Dexterity by 12% Increase Agility by 12% Increase ability with bladed weapons +2 The Agility and Dexterity bonuses were self-explanatory and needed no further testing, so he immediately dismissed them. The increased ability with bladed weapon though¡­ Even though he an idea of what he wanted to test out while he still had time, he was hesitant. If things went wrong, it could easily cost him his life. But everything carried around a certain amount of risk, and that included not knowing the full extent of his abilities in a life or death fight. Dante created a new sword with Create Blade. He was curious if the increased ability with bladed weapons would help him with world essence manipulation. It was worth finding out, the wooden swords didn¡¯t give him the same ¡®alive¡¯ feeling metal ones did, but exploding a metal sword with no healer in a soundproof room was dangerous to say the least. Deciding he would take it slowly, and very carefully, he began to feed world essence into the weapon. He was shocked by what began to happen. The world essence began to condenseitself. Not only that but as a whole, the world essence was far tamer inside of the weapon. It was still challenging to control, and it took all of his effort, but it was far easier. He cut off the world essence that he was putting into the weapon. There was no point in testing it further when he still had no idea how to actually weaponize world essence, he would just be putting himself at risk. That test done, Dante begrudgingly opened his Status back up. His last skill was pretty much useless, but he needed to test it while he had a chance. Rebirth of the Revenant (Passive): Heal up to 12% of max HP every time you kill. He didn¡¯t think that the apparitions would even be able to trigger his Rebirth of the Revenant passive, but it was worth a shot. The only reason he thought he might have a chance at using it was because it seemed to work by utilizing the world essence of the things he killed¡­ but that was just a hunch. His reasoning was due to the fact that it didn¡¯t work when he killed small things that didn¡¯t give him world essence, like the rabbits he hunted after leaving Alazel. But it did work on other creatures that did give him world essence, like wolves. It also seemed somewhat unlikely that it used his mana in any way. Since the apparition¡¯s enchantment was powered by essence crystals, and therefore world essence, he decided to give it a shot. First, he read the skill carefully. The key phrase was ¡®up to 12%,¡¯ and he already knew that he could adjust the total percentage, so he started at 1%. Gritting his teeth, he created a dagger and made a small cut on his arm. Then he walked up and destroyed one of the six apparitions. As it shattered and began to turn back into mist, he could actually see some of it being sucked over to him before the enchantments could absorb it. Surprisingly, the cut on his arm started to heal. That at least proved one of his theory¡¯s, his passive was definitely healing by using the world essence of those he killed. 1% of his total health was more than enough to heal the small cut on his arm, but Dante held his breath and waited for exhaustion to hit. About two minutes after he killed the apparition he felt it. He was actually pleasantly surprised. Even though his body felt slightly heavier, it wasn¡¯t even as bad as some of the lighter healings that he had gotten in the academy. That done, he began to experiment in a multitude of ways with the Rebirth of the Revenant passive. First, he tried to heal at both 2% and 3%. 2% wasn¡¯t too bad, but it was noticeably worse than 1%. He guessed it was about four times more exhausting. 3%, on the other hand, hit him noticeably harder than the first two, it took him a few minutes to recover, stretching out his now slightly sore body. His takeaway was that 1% was definitely the best for a prolonged fight, but 2% might still be usable if he needed to heal himself and only ran into a few enemies. 3% would limit him severely after only one or two uses, and he didn¡¯t even try 4%, but he assumed it would basically take him out of a fight. After that, he spent the following 25 minutes inflicting pain upon himself and then healing it with the six apparitions. He got some useful information from it though. It seemed that the more intricate the injury, like if he had a pierced organ or vital region, the more heals it took at 1% when compared to a deep slash on his arms, legs, or nonvital areas, even if they were about the same size wound. He also tried to manipulate the world essence in an attempt to make the healing less exhaustive, like regular healers did with mana manipulation, but he couldn¡¯t seem to make any progress on it. It was yet another thing he noted to look into later. That finally done, Dante sighed in relief. Inflicting severe wounds on himself wasn¡¯t one of the most pleasant experiences that he had been through. He looked over at the timer, 46 minutes left. It was time to get some real fighting in. Dante walked back to the control panel, and set all of the settings to three. If his estimations from earlier were correct, it would mean he would fight against three melee combatants with about 15 points in each of their physical attributes. He turned to look at the three apparitions, after he increased the Constitution and Offensive Capability they all had light armor on and were wielding swords. Dante¡¯s mouth curved into a smile as he started stepping toward them. Chapter 26 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 26 Edward Ailloss One of his servants ran up to interrupt their sparring. ¡°My lord, master Varik requests an audience.¡± Edward motioned Sam to stop, ending the session. ¡°What are you waiting for, send him over immediately.¡± The servant hurried back to retrieve him, then returned a few minutes later with his spymaster, Varik. It took the spymaster quite a while to arrive at the yard. His bad leg had always been an issue, but it also seemed that the years were beginning to catch up to him, despite his specialization. Seeing Varik¡¯s calm demeanor, Edward couldn¡¯t help but let out a breath of relief. The spymaster wouldn¡¯t have come himself if he didn¡¯t have big news. ¡°Did you finally find her?¡± The elderly man just looked at him emotionlessly. ¡°I¡¯m afraid not, my lord. I have some other news that I thought you may consider to be of some importance.¡± He let out a sigh, his excitement was now deflated. ¡°Alright, what is it?¡± Seeing Edward¡¯s indifference, Varik had a look of irritation cross his face. ¡°My spies have found something of interest in House Calman¡¯s academy in the Outer Edge region.¡± Seeing the spymaster finally showsomeemotion, Edward smirked. ¡°What could those pretentious upstarts possibly be doing that could interest me?¡± The spymaster gave a moment of pause, clearly put off by his attitude. ¡°Apparently a student with silver hair and red eyes is mercilessly destroying others in the academy¡¯s arena.¡± He paused again, letting the information sink in and observing the changes on Edward¡¯s face. ¡°You told me to be on the watch for such a person, so I sent one of my best infiltrators to find out more information. He couldn¡¯t find much on short notice, but apparently, that student arrived at the academy with Alexander andLaylaCalman. He has even been receiving special treatment, and is currently housed with nobles from the Outer region.¡± Edward could feel his face contort as Varik gave his report, which only brought out a look of satisfaction from the old spymaster. It was no secret in House Ailloss that Edward¡¯s daughter, Diana, had run away because he was trying to force her into a marriage, and Varik knew more than most. Edward quickly pivoted, turning to Sam. ¡°Prepare an extraction squad, we can¡¯t let thatwitchget her hands on him.¡± Sam cleared his throat. Then, as though he was talking to a child who didn¡¯t understand. ¡°It may be possible that he won¡¯t come willingly if we¡­forciblyextract him.¡±Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. That gave him pause. He needed to find a way to get the boy out of the Calman¡¯s reach, but in a way, that wouldn¡¯t make him resentful¡­ Edward scratched his chin, considering several options for a moment. ¡°Lead a squad into the academy, then wait for further orders.¡± Then he turned back to Varik. ¡°Completely cover the academy with your agents. I want to know everything that happens as it happens.¡± Varik was a little put off by the order. ¡°Not only would that cost a significant amount of resources just to set up the information relay, but I would also have to take agents out of some long-term positions to fill the academy. Some have been working for years to properly establish themselves.¡± The spymaster¡¯s words gave him pause. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. This is more important, try and minimize the damage as much as you can, but see my orders carried out. Now.¡± He waved both of them away. Now alone in the yard, he couldn¡¯t help but let out another sigh. Everything seemed to be going wrong. Not only had his daughter run away, but the future of his house was most likely already seduced by some other witch. If he was going to be seduced by a witch, why couldn¡¯t it have been Diana¡­
¡°Sit up straight.¡± Mia was in the middle of cutting her food and wasn¡¯t even looking at him. ¡°Shoulders back and chest out.¡± Dante just stared at her for a moment, then did as she said. What did I do to deserve this? As carefully as he could, he resumed eating, slowly cutting a piece of meat. ¡°Don¡¯t rest your arms on the table. And you''re cutting a steak, not your adversary.Whotaught you your manners?¡± That comment elicited a glare from him. ¡°No one.¡± For a moment, she looked as though she regretted her words, but then her eyes hardened. ¡°That is quite obvious. I would suggest you learn quickly if you don¡¯t want to embarrass yourself on yourdate.¡± Mia had been treating him far differently after their trip to the simulation room two days prior. For some reason, she hated him again. He had no idea why, but was pretty sure he had messed up in some way that he wasn¡¯t aware of. Regardless of the reason, knowing that he had destroyed whatever loose friendship he had finally started to create with Mia was still somewhat emotionally crushing. ¡°I¡¯m no longer hungry¡± He put down his fork and knife. ¡°I think I¡¯ll go to sleep early.¡± He checked her reaction, but there wasn¡¯t one. Dante let out a deep breath, then got up from his chair and walked toward his bedroom. ¡°Thanks for dinner.¡± He looked back to gauge her reaction yet again, but she seemed intent on ignoring him. Walking into his room, he decided his best course of action was to find comfort in his bed. He jumped onto it, somehow the bed seemed to remove all of his troubles. At least my training with Will is going well¡­ Even though he and Will had only done two training sessions together, Will was already making enormous strides in his control thanks to Mia¡¯s techniques. It was still too early to see if some sort of relationship would form out of it, but Will seemed elated at his progress. Will¡¯s attitude, and lack of discomfort around him, gave him a decent amount of hope for his plan.
Mia Mia sat at the table, ferociously cutting the steak on her plate. Bastard. How dare he be seduced by that slut, but refuse me? The sound of a cracking plate brought her out of her thoughts. The knife in her hand had shattered it. Mia took a deep breath, trying to collect herself. She didn¡¯t even know why she was so upset with him. It wasn¡¯t like she actually wanted to sleep with Dante, but just thinking of Kayla rubbing up against him with her chest after all of her failed efforts¡­ The knife in her hand gave out, getting completely crushed in her grip. Chapter 27 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 27 The cracking of wooden swords striking together rang out as he and Will practiced in the yard. The two of them weren¡¯t really sparring, just drilling through their sword forms with each other. If they had been taking the fight seriously, Will would have been raining down blows that felt like sledgehammer strikes, and He would be outmaneuvering the attacks with his much higher speed. Even though he usually won those fights, he couldn¡¯t do it without taking at least a few of Will¡¯s jarring attacks. So, when Will suggested they spar after their manipulation orb training, he was quick to suggest a mock fight. It was actually far more useful for him than a regular fight would have been anyways. Compared to Will, who had practiced sword forms for years with tutors, he was far behind in actual sword fighting. After a few more exchanges Will spoke up. ¡°I heard you are going to the party at the Wise Prince tonight.¡± The sudden statement and Will¡¯s serious expression was so unexpected that as soon as Dante registered what Will had said, his form slipped and Will¡¯s sword slid between his guard. The unanticipated strike to his thigh caught him off-guard, and he hissed in pain. ¡°Where did you hear that?¡± His question caused Will to wince. ¡°Have you met Jack of House Daynard?¡± Their swords continued to collide while he thought it over. After scanning through all of the nobles that he had met, and their house names, he concluded that he hadn¡¯t. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve even heard of that house before.¡± ¡°He seems to know you rather well¡­ Jack and the House Syrus twins talk about you a lot. Mostly spreading rumors about your, um¡­ heritage.¡± Will paused as he saw the recognition on Dante¡¯s face. ¡°But recently, they are saying that you''re, uh¡­¡± A look of hesitation crossed Will¡¯s face. ¡°getting played by Kayla Stavins.¡± Dante¡¯s lip curled up into a slight smile involuntarily, surprising Will, who had been trying to break the news to him carefully. Will¡¯s voluntary warning about the party meant that teaching Will over the past few days was already paying off. Even if he was already aware of everything that Will had been warned him about, if he hadn¡¯t been, it might have been an enormous help. Not only that, but he was also quite confident that the three people he was talking about were the three he had met at the seamstress shop, knowing their names could be a massive help in the future. ¡°Thanks for the warning, but I should be fine.¡± His words seemed to disgruntle Will. So, in an effort to maintain whatever relationship they might have formed, he quickly followed up his statement. ¡°I already knew Kayla has ulterior motives for inviting me to the party, but I accepted anyways because it may be beneficial to me.¡±Stolen story; please report. This time Will¡¯s concentration faltered in the midst of the conversation, allowing Dante to slip inside of his guard and get revenge for earlier. Of course, Will shrugged the attack off like it didn¡¯t happen. ¡°How could going to the party with Kayla be beneficial to you?¡± That question shut him up. He wasn¡¯t sure how much he should tell Will. He didn¡¯t trust Will enough to tell him everything, or really anything, but at the same time telling him nothing would sew distrust between them. Deciding it would be best to say something, he tried to keep it vague. ¡°I think she might have helped someone deceive me, so I¡¯m trying to find out who.¡± That elicited a laugh from Will. ¡°That¡¯s what happens when you get involved with nobles.¡± He seemed to be in a better mood now. ¡°I would suggest you don¡¯t get too tangled up in our scheming though, it would be dangerous for you.¡± That was fairly obvious, but Will didn¡¯t seem to be done handing out advice, so he prodded further. ¡°How so?¡± The question made Will¡¯s expression far more serious. ¡°All choices that a noble might make are based almost completely on two things; advantage and deterrence. You, for example, are almost completely advantageous to try and control. I¡¯m not sure what youractualClassifications are, but based on your speed, strength, and resiliency, someone would have to be a fool not to see your potential. The problem is; all you have is potential.¡± Will stopped the mock fight. ¡°You have nothing to deter someone from taking advantage of you, you have no allies, and you are too weak to protect yourself.¡± Will paused to let out a sigh. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be a problem if you allied yourself with someone who could protect you, but you have nothing to offer in return for their protection¡­ It would be equivalent to enslaving yourself. A true alliance, or even just a mutual agreement, can only be made when two parties are of equal power. Otherwise, the weaker side will always be at a disadvantage.¡± ¡°Your problem is different though. It is no secret that House Calman has been trying to recruit you. Setting you up in Housing District 1, as well as so obviously hiding your Classification, was warning enough for others to stay away from you.¡± Will¡¯s tone of voice was as if he was stating the obvious. ¡°If you get involved with someone other than House Calman, you go from being a complete advantage to a potential threat.¡± Dante just stared at him blankly. It didn¡¯t seem conceivable that the Will he knew, and the Will who just gave him that explanation were the same person. Regardless, if he thought about his current situation in that light, everything made more sense¡­ and everything also became much more dangerous. Even though he was pretty sure someone from House Calman had organized his fight with Greggory, so going with Kayla wouldn¡¯t be a problem, there was still House Ailloss to consider. Edward Ailloss basically asked him to join his house outright. If anyone from House Calman or House Ailloss found out about the other, they might take steps to make sure he didn¡¯t cause problems in the future¡­ He hadn¡¯t even thought of any of that before Will brought it up. ¡°Thank you for explaining that to me.¡± Will just nodded, then continued. ¡°You need to keep it in mind. Most nobles won¡¯t do anything for you if you aren¡¯t useful to them. Even in agreements like the one we have, if you were dealing with anyone else, they wouldn¡¯t have felt a need to repay your services.¡± Will smirked. "Luckily for you, I amat least somewhat honest." He had definitely underestimated Will. He had thought that Will was straightforward and would be unaware of any subtleties, like the lessons he was giving him for free in order to gain some form of an ally. Dante couldn¡¯t help but let out a sigh, it seemed like no one he had met since he left Alazel was who they appeared to be on the surface. Chapter 28 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 28 There was an expected knock at the door, and he quickly opened it. A weathered old man with grey hair and a disinterested expression was standing at the doorway. ¡°I have been sent at thebehestof Lady Stavins to retrieve the one named¡­ Dante.¡± If he didn¡¯t know better, he would have thought that the old servant¡¯s mouth was dirtied by the mere mention of his name. The way the old man spat it out at the end of his sentence was off-putting to say the least. ¡°I am Dante.¡± As if he didn¡¯t know. It wasn¡¯t as though he was hard to spot, and seeing as how he was the only one who had answered the door, and in the academy¡¯s formal uniform no less, he was quite sure that servant knew precisely who he was talking to. ¡°Very well, follow me.¡± Without another word, the servant turned and walked away. Dante heaved a sigh and followed, he really wasn¡¯t looking forward to enduring all of the nobles that he would meet at the party, but things seemed to have started early with Kayla¡¯s servant. The walk to Kayla¡¯s house itself wasn¡¯t far at all. She was located in building 12, which was at the other end of Housing District 1, so it only took a few minutes to arrive outside of her residency. As soon as the two of them neared the house, Kayla shot out of the bottom level. Even though he didn¡¯t trust her, Dante couldn¡¯t help but admit that Kayla looked rather good in the academy¡¯s formal uniform. The uniform itself was a short black dress that came to just above her knees, and although everything was covered appropriately, it accented her slim figure quite nicely. Kayla¡¯s brown, and now curled hair bounced through the air as she ran over and latched onto his arm with a beaming smile on her face. ¡°Finally!¡± She turned her head back to stick her tongue out at her servant. ¡°Youcan go.¡± Kayla immediately went back to smiling at him. ¡°Isn¡¯t he so boorish? My actual servant was tied up in other duties, so I had to make do with what was available on short notice.¡± She looked him over for a moment. ¡°You clean up rather well.¡± Dante glanced down at himself, he looked the same as he always did. The only difference from the last time she saw him was the formal pants and coat that stuck with House Calman¡¯s black theme. The disgruntled servant, who was still standing next to them and listening to everything she had said, just glared at Kayla before walking off. That certainly explains his attitude¡­ The revelation that the servant didn¡¯t actually hate him, but Kayla, improved his mood far more than it should have. Deciding to play his part to the fullest, Dante laughed at her remark. Then with a resentful tone. ¡°I may have cleaned up, but I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m still going to be overshadowed by you.¡± He finished the line by gesturing toward her entire appearance. Although he didn¡¯t have any firsthand experience with women¡­ or people in general, he had seen his fair share of late night romances in the streets of Alazel. That particular line, the tone of voice, and even gesture was something he had seen in action several times in the hands of John Viles. John was the son of one of the best jewelers in Alazel, and more importantly, the local playboy. Even though he found the line to be clear deception and obviously fabricated, every time he had seen John use it, it had worked wonders. Kayla covered her mouth as she let out a soft giggle. ¡°Oh my, I wasn¡¯t aware that you were such a charmer.¡± She winked at him. ¡°I may need to keep my guard up around you.¡± He was at a complete loss of where to go from there. John would have gone in for a kiss, but that definitely didn¡¯t seem appropriate given the situation. He had wanted to practice his ¡®flirting¡¯ on Mia before the party, but she didn¡¯t seem like she was in the mood to cooperate in the last few days. Doing his best to keep up his fa?ade, Dante just grinned back, then attempted to change the direction of the conversation. ¡°It¡¯s a long walk to the leisure district, shall we be off?¡± Kayla had a thoughtful look on her face. ¡°I suppose we can, but I usually like to show up late.¡± She gave him a mischievous grin. ¡°It makes me seem more important.¡± He had no interest in staying alone with Kayla longer than he had to, he was already struggling to keep up with the short conversation they were having... and that didn¡¯t even account for the nervousness he felt at being in such close proximity to a girl. He gave his best aggrieved look. ¡°If the two of us showed up late, it is far more likely that it will be blamed on me, rather than your importance.¡± Kayla, who was still holding onto his arm with one hand, rubbed her chin with the other in thought. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll go now, if only for your sake¡­¡± Dante had to stop himself from sighing in relief. ¡°But.¡± She paused for effect. ¡°You will owe me a favor.¡± The mischievous smile from earlier reappeared. Something about that smile was disconcerting, but he wasn¡¯t willing to lose an advantage that he had just gained. So, nodding to her in answer, he led Kayla toward the leisure district. His hopes of a silent, hour-long walk, were quickly crushed not even a minute after they set off. ¡°So, where are you from?¡± She doesn¡¯t waste much time¡­ He was slightly hesitant about telling her where he was from after the incident with Greggory, but after thinking it over in his mind for a moment, he couldn¡¯t see a way that the knowledge that he was from Alazel could be used against him. Even if Greggory¡¯s father wanted to hunt him down, he wouldn¡¯t dare move against the academy. ¡°I am from a town called Alazel.¡±This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Kayla was silent for a moment, eyes looking upward in thought. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever heard of Alazel before, is it far from here?¡± ¡°No. Actually, it¡¯s quite close to the academy, a little over a two weeks journey.¡± ¡°Oh, is that so¡­ Is your father the local lord?¡± Kayla¡¯s question seemed genuine, throwing him off-guard. He had assumed that since she helped set him up against Greggory that she would have known at least something about him. Even when Kayla had asked him his name outside of the simulation room, he had thought the entire thing to be an act, but it seemed that might not be the case. He thought over his next course of action for a moment. She had left an easily exploitable hole in the conversation. At first, he was unsure of whether or not to take the advantage, but he decided it might be an excellent opportunity to gain information, so he pressed her. ¡°Actually, Greggory was the local lord¡¯s son.¡± He observed her and wasn¡¯t disappointed when slight surprise briefly flashed across Kayla¡¯s face. ¡°Oh¡­ is that so.¡± Kayla was clearly having a hard time trying to recover. Just as she was opening her mouth to follow up, and likely offer an explanation, Dante cut her off. ¡°Actually, the two of you seemed to know each other quite well.¡± He paused to give Kayla the most puzzled expression he could muster. ¡°How could you have possibly met, and been close, if you hadn¡¯t even heard of Alazel?¡± Kayla didn¡¯t hesitate this time, replying instantly. ¡°Oh, you thought we were close?¡± Her hand covered her mouth as she laughed. ¡°We had only met that day, he saw me watching the fights in the stands and tried to make advances toward me. When I didn¡¯t respond kindly to them, the fool tried to impress me by fighting in the arena himself¡­ Only to run intoyou.¡± ¡°Hmm, I wonder why you¡¯re so curious about Greggory.¡± Kayla looked at him with one eyebrow raised. ¡°Could you be¡­ jealous?¡± Against his better judgment, he decided to ease off. He couldn¡¯t help but admit that the reason she supplied seemed somewhat plausible, and he couldn¡¯t think of a way to further box her in. So, he replied to her with lighthearted sarcasm. ¡°But of course, how could I not be jealous?¡± He couldn¡¯t help but feel somewhat smug with how he had handled the conversation thus far. I think I¡¯m starting to get the hang of this. Saying that he was nervous to go on his first ¡®date¡¯ would have been an understatement, even though it wasn¡¯t really a date at all. Oddly enough though, his nervousness actually seemed to help him. It seemed to destroy any attraction that he might have felt towards Kayla. Kayla puffed out her chest jokingly. ¡°Thatwould have been the real question.¡± Worried that Kayla would hijack the conversation by questioning him further, he decided his best course of action was a preemptive strike. ¡°So, where are you from?¡± Hitting Kayla back with the same question she had asked him felt rather good. The question seemed to sink Kayla¡¯s mood. ¡°My family used to rule over a city called Alryne.¡± ¡°Used to?¡± Kayla¡¯s playful demeanor from earlier was entirely gone, and her expression turned downcast. ¡°Alryne was located in a neutral territory between House Calman and House Ramotar, which usually would have meant that it was safe from either sides stalemate. But a few years ago, House Calman invaded, wiping out any resistance in Alryne.¡± He was aware that his knowledge of the world was lacking, but that explanation didn¡¯t make much sense to him. ¡°If House Calman invaded Alryne, wouldn¡¯t Ramotar have retaliated? I heard that regarding overall strength they are superior to House Calman.¡± Kayla didn¡¯t seem to mind the question. ¡°They are, but an all-out war would have meant massive casualties on both sides, so even if House Ramotar was victorious in a war, House Ailloss would have been in a position to eradicate them afterward. When House Calman offered a few thousand essence crystals in recompense, House Ramotar accepted them gladly.¡± Despite his hesitation, his curiosity got the better of him. ¡°If your house is no longer located in Alryne, where did they go after the Calmans took over. Did they move to a different city in the territory?¡± Kayla looked at him as if he was a complete and utter moron. ¡°Theydidn¡¯t go anywhere. Everyone aside from my sister and I was executed shortly after the city fell.¡± Asking more questions would have definitely been rude, but he was still curious. Both about why Kayla and her sister were the only ones spared, as well as why she was at the academy with the people who killed her family. In his current situation, any news on House Calman would be beneficial. One of those questions was unquestionably worse than the other though, so he went with the lesser of the two. ¡°Why would you choose to go to the academy after¡­that?¡± His question elicited a hollow laugh from Kayla. ¡°Why would anyone from the Outer region want to spend their time in this desolate region? The only ones who aren¡¯t here against their will are the Calmans themselves¡­ or their branch families.¡± He thought it over for a moment, what she said made sense, but at the same time, it didn¡¯t. ¡°Um, could you elaborate?¡± ¡°All of the nobles here, at least from the Outer region, are glorified hostages. Their houses were the ones that had surrendered to the Calmans without a fight, either recently or long ago, but still, aren¡¯t trusted. Keeping the heirs of the houses here is a good way for the Calmans to keep their parents in check.¡± Kayla let out a sigh. ¡°There are exceptions though. I, for example, am here to try and find a suitor from House Calman, or a branch family, before I turn eighteen.¡± ¡°What?¡± Dante couldn¡¯t hold back his involuntary reaction to her words. Kayla rolled her eyes. ¡°Anytime they find noblewoman with a magic Classification bloodline, they give them a chance to marry into House Calman. It¡¯s how they keep their magic bloodline strong. You¡¯ve had thepleasureof meeting my current target, Jack Daynard.¡± She had said it matter-of-factly, like it was obvious, but he was having a hard time comprehending her words. The entire thing seemed so¡­ barbaric. ¡°What happens if you don¡¯t find a suitor by the time you turn eighteen?¡± Seeing the look on Kayla¡¯s face, he instantly regretted the question. ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­ I haven¡¯t seen my sister since she turned eighteen¡­ it¡¯s been over a year.¡± After that, she just stared at the floor as they walked through the streets of the academy. Yes, this entire situation is definitely barbaric. He was unsure of how to continue. On one hand, his questions were clearly making her uncomfortable. On the other hand, the information she was giving him about the Calmans was invaluable. Trying to bring back the playful atmosphere, he looked at her with one eyebrow raised. ¡°Won''t Jack get jealous if you show up to the party with me?¡± His question brought out a genuine laugh from Kayla. ¡°If only, I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s the one who is looking forward to you being with me the most.¡± She saw the lack of understanding on Dante¡¯s face and winked at him. ¡°Jack thinks toying with the commoner is the best use of my¡­services, which I am quite thankful for. Besides, there are plenty of others in my same position that he can amuse himself with.¡± The part about Jack toying with him was reasonable, but Dante couldn¡¯t understand why she would be thankful for that. ¡°Why would you be thankful for that, aren¡¯t you trying to marry him?¡± Kayla stifled her laughter with her hand. ¡°As if, he¡¯s just my last resort. Jack is the only potential suitor currently at the academy, but I still have a little over three years, so I¡¯m holding out for someone who is at least decent.¡± She paused for effect. ¡°If there are no other options, Imayconsider Jack at that time. For now, I''m just trying to make myself useful for House Calman so they are more willing to set me up with someone else.¡± She said the entire thing like it was a joke, but Dante didn¡¯t think it was funny at all. Kayla¡¯s future prospects were far more depressing than even his own. Their conversation came to an abrupt halt as they finally arrived at the leisure district. Chapter 29 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 29 Kayla Stavins Kayla, still holding Dante¡¯s arm, looked up to try and get a feel for his mood. What in the hell is wrong with him? Things hadnotgone as she had planned, and she didn¡¯t see how things could have turned out the way they did. Everything had started so well, and at the beginning it seemed like Dante was in the palm of her hand. But as soon as she asked him onesmallquestion, he went from complete infatuation to blatant suspicion instantly. Even after she gave him a perfectly reasonable explanation, he was still on edge. It was quite evident that their ¡®operation¡¯ hadn¡¯t gone as planned because there was no way he had thought it was a coincidence. After that realization, she had tried to distance herself from House Calman as much as possible by selling her sob story. She had even thought that she did a rather good job of it, but he seemed to take it in stride. Is he even human? Kayla looked up and gave Dante one of her best, winning smiles. ¡°Should we go straight to the party, or would you like to grab a bite to eat first?¡±
At her question, Dante looked down toward Kayla. He had been enjoying the moment of silence, it was helping him digest all of the new information that Kayla had given him. He had more than one question about what she had told him, and wasn¡¯t sure how much of what Kayla had told him was the truth, but he was doing his best to memorize every word so that he could ask Will, or possibly even Mia later. ¡°If the party is at an inn, shouldn¡¯t they have food there?¡± Kayla rolled her eyes. ¡°Of course they do, but I would never lower myself to eating at an inn.¡± Her words caused his false smile to slip for a moment. ¡°Whatever was I thinking?¡± He cleared his throat. ¡°Still, I think it would be best to go straight to the party.¡± Kayla nodded. ¡°That¡¯s fine, I¡¯m not really hungry.¡± She looked at Dante as if waiting for him to lead the way. Dante scratched the back of his head with his free arm. ¡°I¡¯m not really sure where the Wise Prince Inn is.¡± ¡°Naturally.¡± Kayla released a sigh. ¡°I¡¯ll lead then.¡± Instead of holding onto Dante¡¯s arm, Kayla snatched his hand and began dragging him toward the Wise Prince Inn. It only took them a few minutes to walk there, and he was more than happy to be dragged by Kayla. The inn itself was unlike any he had seen before, its size alone put all the others to shame, and that didn¡¯t even mention the beautiful craftsmanship. The building looked more like a noble''s manor than any inn he had seen. Two guards stood outside of an open double-wide door, checking the identification cards of any who wanted to enter. He could hear deafening sound pouring out from the inside, both the voices of people mixed with the sound of music. He could also see different colored lights flashing as he peered through the doorway, and as he took in the entire scene, he could only think of one word to describe it; chaotic. ¡°Isn¡¯t it wonderful?¡± Dante had been so distracted taking in the ¡®Inn¡¯ that he had actually forgotten Kayla¡¯s presence. ¡°Uh, sure?¡± He actually thought the place looked like a nightmare. It was hard enough to interact with people usually, and the ¡®Inn¡¯ looked like it wasn¡¯t going to make it any easier. He reconsidered the party. Assuming that Kayla hadn¡¯tcompletelylied to him earlier, he could be almost certain that someone from House Calman set him up in the fight against Greggory, but he still wanted to know who it was specifically. Alexander or Layla were his key suspects, but it could be someone else like Sir Andres or the headmaster. The headmaster was someone he definitely wanted to look into. Even though Layla had mentioned a headmaster when he had first arrived at the academy, not only had he not seen the man, but he hadn¡¯t even heard mention of the headmaster since then. He had been planning on using the party to glean more information off of others¡¯ conversations, but it now seemed far too unlikely. Seeing his apprehension, Kayla just rolled her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s not as bad as you think.¡± She yanked on his hand. ¡°C¡¯mon let¡¯s go inside.¡± Dante allowed himself to be dragged to the two guards, who just nodded to Kayla as she pushed through the door without stopping. So much for checking identification cards. The inside was just as horrid as he thought it would be. A mass of people who he could barely move through, blinding lights that seemed to come from enchanted lights, and even music that was being amplified over the noise of the crowd. As soon as he stepped through the doorway, Dante stopped and began to turn around, intent on leaving. Kayla had other plans though. She yanked him by his hand, quickly pulling him through the crowded room to a stairway in the back. There were four guards there, and this time Kayla was stopped. Seeing Kayla pull out her identification card, Dante pulled his out as well. The guards checked both of them. Then one of them exchanged a few words with Kayla, which he couldn¡¯t hear over the loud noise around him, and the two of them were allowed to pass. Kayla wasted no time, snatching his hand back and dragging him up the stairs. The staircase itself led to a massive door, it had no handles that he could see, so he wasn¡¯t too surprised when Kayla walked up to it and began feeding world essence inside. Dante watched the blue markings that appeared on the door carefully. They were far more intricate than any of the enchantments he had seen, aside from the simulation room. He couldn¡¯t see a purpose for the intricacy, aside from a possible locking mechanism. He made a mental note to learn more about enchantments in the future. Even if he couldn¡¯t create them himself, it seemed like the knowledge might still be useful. The door slid out toward them slightly, then opened as if it was on an invisible hinge. Then, as they stepped into the room, the door slid closed on its own. Dante let out a sigh of relief as he experienced the euphoria of complete silence. It seemed that the door also had the function of being soundproof. Of course, that wasn¡¯t to say that the room he stepped into was empty, on the contrary, it was actually filled with a few dozen people. They were all just staring at the two of them in silence. The atmosphere in the room was far more relaxed than it was downstairs. Aside from the large bar on the left side of the room that was covered in different types of liquor and spirits, the rest of the room was a mixture of tables and booths that were filled with socializing nobles. The only exception was a small stage in the far corner that had an open space underneath it. Dante assumed it was some type of dance floor meant for small concerts. This wasn¡¯t the ¡®party¡¯ that he had been expecting. The one who broke the silence was Jack Daynard. ¡°I told you the freak was coming.¡± He seemed quite pleased with himself. A girl who looked surprisingly similar to Jack began to giggle. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you could do it Kayla.¡± The girl turned to Jack. ¡°I wonder what she did to convince him to come with her.¡± She began to whisper to him conspiratorially, yet loud enough so that everyone could hear. ¡°I bet she has already dirtied herself with that freakish commoner.¡± The girl¡¯s words brought a frown to Jack¡¯s face, and a slight tinge of crimson to Kayla¡¯s as she quickly released her hold on his hand. He thought their reactions were strange. He knew what the girl was insinuating, but he had already accepted Kayla¡¯s invitation in front of close to a dozen people. He couldn¡¯t understand why they were surprised that he actually showed up, or thought that Kayla would need to do things with him in order for him to come.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Then again¡­ Dante had been so lost in thought about the implications of everything that he and Kayla were talking about, that he had forgotten that she was trying to seduce him. Thinking about it like that, it made sense that Kayla would be looked down upon for attempting to seduce a commoner. Everyone else in the room broke off into their own conversations, and the atmosphere resumed to what he thought was the norm. Kayla gestured him to follow as she made her way to sit down at Jack¡¯s table. He was hesitant, to say the least. Several other tables had open seats, and he didn¡¯t see why they needed to sit with Jack. His saving grace was that the other two nobles that Jack usually had with him weren¡¯t there. Other than Jack and the girl who was sitting next to him, there were three others at the table. Two boys were sitting next to each other, lost in conversation about a new whore at a high-end brothel in the leisure district, and the third was an auburn-haired girl with an exceptionally bored expression on her face. Kayla, to his surprise, actually sat down directly next to the girl who had just insulted her, forcing him to slide in between her and the bored looking girl. The girl who looked like Jack glanced between Dante and Kayla for a moment. ¡°So nice of you to finally join us, Kayla. What took you so long?¡± Dante glanced at Kayla, not knowing how they could have been late, they had arrived at the time she had told him the ¡®party¡¯ started. Kayla seemed ready this time, flashing the girl a smile. ¡°I was in better company. Did my absence disturb you Bridget?¡± ¡°Of course not, I was simply worried for your wellbeing.¡± Bridget shot a meaningful look at Dante, which he felt was undeserved. ¡°You never know what a commoner will do to a beautiful noblewoman such as yourself.¡± Kayla rolled her eyes. ¡°Yes,he-¡± She motioned to Dante who was sitting quietly. ¡°can¡¯t compare to the mannerisms of truenoblemen.¡± Her voice was dripping with sarcasm as she indicated the two who were still talking about whores but had moved onto the topic of which ones would let them do more for a few extra coins. Bridget crossed her arms over her chest, as if upset that Kayla had countered her statement. ¡°Well,Icertainly wouldn¡¯t let him near me without guards.¡± Kayla smirked back to her. ¡°But of course, you need to preserve your virginity so your house can sell it to the highest bidder.¡± Dante gaped at Kayla. What in the fuck is going on, and how is this a party? Although he didn¡¯t know what was happening, only a fool wouldn¡¯t be able to see that things were escalating quickly. He even thought about intervening, but everyone else at the table ignored the two of them, as if their fighting was a regular occurrence. ¡°Yes, I need to preserve mine, while you need to hurry to lose yours like your lifedependson it.¡± The words coming out of Bridget¡¯s mouth were like venom. Bridget¡¯s words gave Dante pause, unless the entire fight was a prearranged act, what she said only helped support Kayla¡¯s story. Kayla just crossed her arms and looked away. After that, the two girls sat in silence. Jack cleared his throat. ¡°Alright Tabitha, now that Kayla is here let¡¯s get on with it. Why did you want us all to meet up here first? I don¡¯t want to be stuffed up in this room all night when theactualparty is downstairs.¡± His words caused the entire room to quiet down again. Everyone was listening with rapt attention. The girl with the bored expression next to him spoke up. ¡°We are still missing William Savion and Brent Altham.¡± Will is coming? Everyone in the room released a groan, and Jack just snorted. ¡°It was bad enough that you made us wait for Kayla, just get on with it, someone can tell them later.¡± ¡°My news is too sensitive to be spread outside of this room, wewillwait.¡± Hearing her matter-of-fact tone, Jack backed off, surprising him. Kayla had said that Jack was from a branch house of House Calman, so he should have had massive influence within the academy, yet Tabitha shut him up effortlessly. Kayla, who seemed to be done glaring at Bridget, stood up and turned to Dante with a smile plastered back on her face. ¡°Would you like something to drink?¡± Glancing around to the others around him, and noticing what they were drinking, he had to take a moment to think the question over. He had never tried alcohol before and was curious about what it would be like. But at the same time, he had seen his fair share of drunks in Alazel, and he didn¡¯t think now would be the best time to test his tolerance. ¡°No thank you.¡± Kayla pouted. ¡°You¡¯re no fun.¡± Then she spun on her heels and walked toward the bar. Just as he was going to let out a sigh of relief, excited to be alone to collect his thoughts, Bridget looked at Dante and snorted. ¡°She issucha slut.¡± He didn¡¯t know how to proceed. What was he supposed to say? If he agreed with her, it would look bad for Kayla, who he actually didn¡¯t mind¡­ much. And if he disagreed, Bridget may cause problems for him in the future. He decided to stay as neutral as possible. ¡°How so?¡± Bridget snorted again. Then, with arms crossed, turned toward Jack. ¡°I don¡¯t see why we allowed this creature in here.¡± You talked to me first¡­ Truthfully, that went much better than he could¡¯ve hoped it would. Much to Bridget¡¯s displeasure, Jack just ignored her, he was still visibly upset from his interaction with Tabitha. Kayla, who was just making her way back to the table, noticed Bridget¡¯s perturbed expression and winked at him as she sat with a smug smile on her face. Much to his relief, she seemed content to just sit and sip her drink. Almost half an hour of silently listening to two nobles talk about whores, the door to the room opened. Dante watched, hoping Will was finally going to show up, but he was quickly disappointed when an embarrassed looking noble opened the door. The boy just stood in the doorway scratching the back of his head. ¡°Sorry I was late.¡± Everyone in the room groaned, then jack spoke up. ¡°Tabitha, either you tell us, or we are all leaving.¡± His words sent mutters of agreement through the room. Tabitha, who still seemed exceptionally bored, let out a long sigh. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll find a way to tell William later.¡± She stood up and checked to make sure everyone was listening. ¡°Recently, my father was holding a private meeting with Layla and Alexander Calman. I...¡± She paused to clear her throat. ¡°Overheardthat the inner regions are preparing for another campaign.¡± It took everyone a moment to process her words, Tabitha¡¯s deadpan tone didn¡¯t match the gravity of the situation. As realization dawned on the listening nobles, the room fell into shocked silence. Then, all at once, the nobles in the room started to talk all at once. He couldn¡¯t make out a single word of what they were saying. Jack took control, shouting above the rest. ¡°Shut up!¡± He seemed to be the only one who was surprised when the room fell silent again. Jack looked at Tabitha. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Tabitha, whostillseemed bored, just shrugged. Everyone else in the room glared at her nonchalance. Jack sucked in a large breath, visibly trying to control his temper. ¡°Whatdo you know?¡± Tabitha shrugged again. ¡°Apparently the Chaos region is already being scouted, so the Calmans predict that we only have four or five years to prepare.¡± That news was followed by several curses. One particularly angry voice shouted from the back of the crowd. ¡°If we only have a few years to prepare, why haven¡¯t they told anyone?¡± Mutters of agreement and glares at both JackandBridget followed his question. He was fully focused on the discussion. It seemed that going to the ¡®party¡¯, if he could call it that, was the right choice. He had already gained new information, Alexander and Layla hadn¡¯t given him a timeframe for the campaign. Tabitha answered the angry shout. ¡°Apparently the scouts haven¡¯t entered House Ailloss and House Ramotar¡¯s territory yet, so the news is being suppressed until they find out.¡± That only brought out angrier muttering. The noble next to him, who seemed terrified spoke up. ¡°Do they want everyone to die? Thinking about politics at a time like this¡­¡± Jack looked as though he was going to say something to defend House Calman, but before he could utter a word, the same voice from earlier shouted over the crowd. ¡°Die? Maybe if you¡¯re lucky.¡± That sent shivers through the room, everyone knew what he meant. Jack forced out mocking laughter. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you are all afraid of a few wraiths?¡± Dante, along with everyone else, just looked at him like he was an utter moron. That¡¯s when the voice in the back of the room loudly snorted, then spoke up again. ¡°If there was any justice in the world, House Daynard would be collared first.¡± Those words were completely slanderous, a curse that one wouldn¡¯t wish upon their worst enemy, but he still wasn¡¯t prepared for Jack and Bridget¡¯s reaction. Both of them whirled toward the voice. A buzzing sound emitted from Jack¡¯s hand, thenlightningformed around it. Jack pushed his hand out, shooting it directly toward the source of the voice. The noble who was struck began to shake violently as the lightning coursed through him, and he was pretty sure the noble was dead. Moments later he was confident that the noble was dead, because shortly after the lightning struck him, a fireball that Bridget threw enveloped him. After that, the entire room was thrown into chaos. Dante didn¡¯t hesitate, he threw himself at the nearest wall. As soon as his back was protected from attacks he looked over the crowd, eyes scanning for any potential threat as he prepared to Blink. His eyes were immediately drawn to the middle of the room, where two groups of nobles were standing across from each other in preparation to fight. Jack and Bridget¡¯s group had a total of ten combatants, while the ones standing across from them only had eight. Dante quickly scanned for Kayla and was relieved to see she was staying out of the fight. He wasn¡¯t worried about her safety, but he didn¡¯t want to get tangled into the fight due to association. Everyone else was scattered across the room. Some were preparing to defend themselves, but most were hiding behind tables or booths in an attempt to preserve their lives. The one exception was Tabitha, she hadn¡¯t moved since the start of the fight. She just stood, staring at Jack with arms crossed. Then, letting out a sigh, she walked over to Jack and cuffed him lightly on the back of the head. He was unprepared for what happened. Tabitha cuffed him lightly, yet Jackspunthrough the air before colliding on the floor face first. The force of the blow was staggering. There is no way his head wasn¡¯t caved in¡­ ¡°As if your house isn¡¯t already hated enough.¡± Tabitha walked over to him. ¡°I already warned you not to kill another student outside of the arena. If you do it again, I¡¯ll have you expelled.¡± Dante stared in shock. That was just a warning? Judging by the force of the attack, and the blood pooling out of him, it was going to take Jack a significant time to recover, even with healers. Everyone watched silently as Tabitha walked back to the door and opened it. ¡°Alright, that was all I had to say. Have fun at the party.¡± Without another word, she walked out. What in the hell was that? Dante looked around at the other nobles. Judging by their equally shocked faces, that wasn¡¯t a typical occurrence. Across the room from Dante, Kayla stood up and dusted herself off. Then walked up to him with a forced smile. ¡°Want a drink now?¡± Chapter 30 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 30 As Dante smashed the pommel of his sword onto his opponent¡¯s head, he felt a slight give and a loud crack. Damn. He hadn¡¯t meant to hurt his opponent, but every commoner he fought in the arena wassoweak. The fight¡¯s moderator shouted out in an uncaring tone. "Healer!¡± Dante couldn¡¯t help but let out a sigh, his first fight in the gold arena wasn¡¯t as exciting as he had been expecting. The blue protection enchantment that covered the arena faded away as an old man rushed inside to take care of the boy that he had just downed. In the last two months, he had been fighting at least once a day in the arena, trying to get more credits in his limited free time so that he could sign up for more classes in the next semester. But despite all of those fights in the bronze and silver arena, he had yet to find a single challenge, not even in his rare encounters with nobles. Now that the quarter was coming to a close, and his world essence manipulation class was finally over, he had far more free time to grind through the arena, and today he had finally earned enough credits to fight in the gold rank. Needless to say, he wasn¡¯t very impressed so far. His opponent hadn¡¯t even utilized world essence manipulation when he attacked. Dante let out another sigh, then looked to the healer who was working on his downed opponent. It seemed he was going to live. Feeling quite pleased that he hadn¡¯t accidentally killed him, Dante walked back to the pit entrance where the attendant was waiting. ¡°Very well done my lord. Would you like to fight again?¡± One of the perks of being a part of Housing District 1 was not having to wait in line to use the arena. When he was fighting in the bronze and silver arenas, he didn¡¯t utilize the privilege to fight more than once per day because he felt bad for the commoners who were waiting in the long lines. But now that he was in the gold arena where there were far fewer people and therefore shorter lines, he wasn¡¯t as unwilling to abuse the privilege. Dante smiled back to the attendant. ¡°I think I will fight again, but first I¡¯ll take a small break to catch my breath.¡± The attendant bowed humbly. ¡°Of course my lord, let me know when you desire to re-enter the arena.¡± Dante walked over to the rest area, a nice addition that wasn¡¯t present in the other, lower ranked arenas. He actually wasn¡¯t tired at all, the three months of stamina training with Archie, mixed with Mia¡¯s strict feeding regiment, had completely changed him physically. The only reason he was taking a break was to allow the commoners who were waiting behind him in line to have their turn. Even though he wanted to fight again immediately, he didn¡¯t think of himself as above the rest of those waiting. So, in an effort to maintain some form of fairness, he waited until itwouldhave been his turn again before going back to the attendant. Around thirty minutes later Dante stood and stretched himself out. It was hard to believe how much he had changed in the three short months he had spent at the academy. He had to be refitted by the seamstress several times so that his uniform would fit properly. Mia seemed to make it her goal to change his physique. He wasn¡¯t sure what exactly she was feeding him, but the rare plants, foods, and pills had a dramatic effect. His figure was now more in line with some of the other nobles who had eaten well and trained vigorously for years. Stretching done, Dante walked back to the attendant, ready to fight in the arena again, and hopefully against someone stronger. As soon as the attendant saw him, he stopped what he was doing and hurriedly walked over with his hands clasped together. ¡°Ah, my lord, would you like to re-enter the arena?¡± Dante nodded in response. ¡°That would be wonderful.¡± The attendant led him to the entrance of the arena¡¯s fighting pit, waiting for the current fight to finish. Dante watched the fighters intently. He could assume that both of them were just Warrior Classifications. Their sluggish movement, yet high strength was indication enough. He was disappointed to see that neither of them were actually using world essence manipulation. Mia had told him that no one would actually utilize world essence or mana manipulation until he was at least in the gold rank arena. ¡®At least¡¯ seemed to be the key phrase. Just as his disappointment was beginning to settle in, from the corner of his eye he could see the faint blue glow of world essence. He began to watch the fight carefully, paying close attention to the one who was about to utilize world essence manipulation. Just as the world essence on the blade began to move, in the attempt to weaponize, the other fighter took advantage the moment''s vulnerability and stabbed him through the gut. The same moderator from earlier shouted immediately. ¡°Healer!¡± Dante couldn¡¯t help but release a sigh. It made sense why no one used world essence manipulation, it took too long to manipulate the world essence for beginners. It was actually what Archie made him focus on the most. Instead of training in making his blade sharper, or world essence denser, he focused the last two months on manipulationspeed.Archie laid out a rather good case for it, even though he did it through beating him half to death a few times, and from what he had just seen the instructor had been right. Although the time it took to properly form the world essence depended on the quantity used, his overall forming speed was about twice as fast as it had been before Archie trained him in it. His control with the weapon, or in other words sharpness of the blade, as well as the amount of world essence he could condense also increased, although only marginally. ¡°You may now enter, my lord.¡± The attendant wasted no time, allowing him to enter as soon as the protection shield lowered. Mentally crossing his fingers, Dante entered the arena. His opponent did not disappoint. It was a stocky noble boy from Housing District 2 who seemed to be bursting with confidence as he walked out.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Dante smiled at the noble, his strongest opponent thus far was the single noble he had fought from Housing District 2, so he had high hopes for the encounter. Seeing his smile, appearance, and Housing District 1 uniform, the noble had a panic-stricken look cross his face. Dante stopped smiling instantly, trying to make himself look as non-threatening as possible. It wasn¡¯t uncommon for his opponents to surrender as soon as they saw his uniform. Not only were nobles from Housing District 1 generally far stronger, but they also had the power to make someone disappear if they were angry enough. Even though someone from Housing District 2 shouldn¡¯t be afraid of him for those reasons, he still wouldn¡¯t put it past the panicking noble to surrender before the fight. The blue protection enchantment went up, and the moderator shouted from his booth. ¡°Begin!¡± Much to the noble¡¯s surprise, he didn¡¯t move at all. He wasn¡¯t going to do anything without trying to bait out world essence or mana manipulation from his opponent. He wasn¡¯t disappointed, shortly after the moderator shouted for the fight to begin, the noble focused on his defense, erecting a translucent shield wall of Mana. The sight brought the smile back to his face. The noble was a magic Classification, and he had just been handed a perfect opportunity to study mana manipulation. Magic Classifications were rare, even for nobles, so he hadn¡¯t fought a single person who could use mana manipulation in the arena so far. The translucent blue shield seemed to be getting thicker, then compressing and becoming less translucent. Not being able to see clearly, Dante faked a swagger and walked forward slowly. It allowed him to both take a closer look, as well as let the noble build up his shield. The closer he got, the more unusual the shield looked. The shield itself was solid, as was the new mana the boy was adding, but when the two solids compressed, they seemed tostitchtogether. It was like the two different sources of mana were reaching out toward each other, then carefully interweaving until they were nearly indistinguishable. After that, the noble started to add a new layer. He had thought that the shield was just one giant mass of Mana, but in actuality, the shield seemed to be several different pieces of Mana that were individually combined together. The noble behind the shield, who was now pale-faced, narrowed his eyes in concentration. Dante continued to watch with interest, waiting to see what would be next. But he was disappointed when the noble just made two fireballs appear, one in each hand. A simple fireball skill was nothing he hadn¡¯t seen before, and he was about to rush the shield to test its strength when the noble extended both his hands outward. The two fireballs floated out of the noble¡¯s hand, not stopping until they were both outside of the shield¡¯s protection. Then the noble flung his hands forward, and the fireballs on either side flew toward him. That¡¯s interesting, I wonder if it¡¯s a part of mana manipulation. He wasn¡¯t worried about losing, a loss in the arena meant nothing unless you died. So, Dante stepped forward brazenly, almost begging to be hit. Then, at the last moment he jumped to the side, surprising the noble with his speed while he narrowly dodged the attack. Without even acknowledging the noble¡¯s presence, Dante stepped forward and inspected the shield. He started by tapping on it with his fist to get a feel for it. Then, he began to slam the pommel of his sword against it. The reaction from the shield was surprising to him. Instead of being completely solid like he thought, the different layers that were threaded together pulled on each other, spreading the impact throughout the entirety of the shield. Looks like blunt weapons won¡¯t work¡­ Dante lifted his sword and slashed at the shield. He had a far better result this time, the sword had actually managed to slice several layers, and Dante watched in amazement as the shieldstitcheditself back together. I wonder how much Mana it takes to make and maintain a shield like this. The noble sat behind the shield and watched Dante slowly test out the barrier. With a slightly perturbed expression, he created another two fireballs. Dante saw the red light flickering in the corner of his eye and glanced up to see the two fireballs, but he completely ignored them. The fireballs were too slow to hit him, and even if they weren¡¯t, he could wait until they were pushed outside of the protection of the shield before blocking them anyway. Full of nonchalance, Dante filled his sword with world essence. It only took him about five seconds to create an edge on his blade because he didn¡¯t even utilize half the world essence that he could have. Dante lazily swung out his sword, ripping through the shield with almost no resistance. It wasn¡¯t nearly as effective as he would have hoped. The noble behind the shield seemed to have been waiting for that moment because as soon as he sliced a hole into the shield, the noble flung the two fireballs forward. One aimed directly at Dante and the other to his side. Confident in his world essence manipulation, Dante didn¡¯t move at all. Using the power of his Blade Dancer passive, he pulled the sword up and sliced the incoming fireball, disintegrating it as the other fireball flew past his left side. Without any warning, he felt a massive pull on his left side. His sword shot out to block the incoming attack but was a fraction of a second too late. As soon as he realized what had happened, Dante threw himself to the floor in an attempt to put out the flame. The burning pain was excruciating, one of the worst things he had ever experienced. The moderator yelled out with the same lack of interest as earlier. ¡°Healer!¡±
He walked out into the academy streets in a sour mood, only to see a giddy Mia. ¡°You should be a little bit more careful next time.¡± She was visibly trying to hold in her laughter. His voice was completely deadpan. ¡°Ha-Ha.¡± He wasn¡¯t in the mood for her attitude. ¡°What happened? I know I dodged that attack.¡± Mia had a rather smug look on her face. ¡°You were stupidly careless in the middle of a fight and got what you deserved. Itoldyou that would happen.¡± That was one of the worst things about the fight. Miahadtold him, and she wasn¡¯t going to let it go anytime soon. Because his opponents were so weak, he had been using them to test out a multitude of different things, mostly different ways to use Swordsmanship in a fight. ¡°You know that wasn¡¯t what I meant.¡± Mia stuck her tongue out at him, upset that he didn¡¯t acknowledge his mistake. ¡°He packed manipulated mana into the skill to change the trajectory.¡± Dante just stared at her for a moment. Something like that was possible, and no one had told him? It seemed like pretty pertinent information. ¡°That information would have been useful.¡± he shot a glare at Mia. His anger caused Mia to laugh again. ¡°If you hadn¡¯t just stood there bashing his shield like a simpleton, it wouldn¡¯t have been a problem.¡± Fair point. It was nice that he and Mia were back on good terms. Actually, their relationship wasfarcloser than it was before. It seemed that when two people came together against a mutual enemy, it only strengthened their bond. Mia yanked him by the arm. ¡°If you are going to sign up for classes today, we need to get going.¡± ¡°Good point, we sho-¡± ¡°Dante!¡± Shit. He knew that voice, it was their mutual enemy. Mia quickly stood in front of him with her arms outstretched in a practiced manner, it was her usual defensive position, and she was now ready to block any incoming sneak attacks. Mia barely got there in time. Kayla shot out of the crowd, intent on getting to him, but was successfully blocked by Mia. Dante sighed in relief. The two of them scrambled for a moment, Kayla was trying to claw her way through but was unable to bypass Mia with her lack of strength. Kayla began to pout. ¡°Get out of my way, I heardmyDante was hurt in the arena.¡± The way she said ¡®my Dante¡¯ sent shivers down his spine. Dante cleared his throat. ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry, I¡¯m fine¡­ How did you know that I was hurt?¡± Kayla snorted. ¡°The moron who did it was bragging about it to anyone who would listen.¡± She flashed him a smile. ¡°But don¡¯t worry, I had it handled.¡± What does that even mean? It was like after the party Kayla became a completely different person. Now she would thoroughly harass him at every opportunity she got. He had been turning down her advances for almost two and a half months, but she wouldn¡¯t stop. He knew something must have happened, but the only thing he remembered about the party after the ¡®meeting¡¯ was his hangover the next morning. Mia spoke up before Kayla could, also eager to get rid of her. ¡°We don¡¯t have time for you today, Dante needs to choose his classes for the next quarter.¡± Kayla looked at Dante and broke out into a broad smile. ¡°That¡¯s great! I also haven¡¯t chosen my classes yet.¡± Dante didn¡¯t bother holding back his groan. Shit. Chapter 31 Dante¡¯s Immortality - Chapter 31 Dante watched Kayla wearily as he and Mia walked toward the signup building. Her brown hair was bouncing merrily as she skipped down the road beside them. She was now the creature of his nightmares. What happened? His first thought when he woke up hungover after the party and noticed Kayla¡¯s behavior, was that he had messed up monumentally and let his Classifications slip. But as time went on, it seemed far less likely. If Kayla knew his Classifications, the Calmans should have as well, and if that were the case, it didn¡¯t make sense why only Kayla was trying to get closer to him. He had also considered that Kayla really did hate the Calmans and therefore not told them. Hehadlearned that her story was true by asking Will. But he didn¡¯t see how getting closer to him would be beneficial to her. He was too weak to be useful. He didn¡¯t put it past Kayla to be planning something though, so he had been waiting cautiously, expecting some form of blackmail to keep his secret. But when that never happened, he didn¡¯t know what to think. He even considered the possibility that he and Kayla had donesomethingwhen he was intoxicated, but he didn¡¯t see how it could result inthissituation. Why did I have to drink? Dante was mentally bashing his head against a wall, angry at his own stupidity. This entire situation was too much of a mess because he didn¡¯t remember anything. He didn¡¯t even know how to best handle the situation, or even what the situation was. He didn¡¯t know what could have possessed him to do it, he had been so cautious. Unwilling to try alcohol for the first time in a situation where he needed his guard up. Something must have happened to make him do it, but he didn¡¯t know what. Kayla turned back to him and winked, causing him to freeze. It was almost as if she knew what he was thinking about. ¡°So, what classes are we going to take?¡± It was actually a good question, and he didn¡¯t even know what his options were. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. How many classes can I choose?¡± Kayla opened her mouth to answer, but Mia was quick to cut her off. ¡°Theoretically you can choose up to four, but you should only sign up for two at the very most. All classes are four hours long, so you wouldn¡¯t have time to do anything else.¡± That was more than disappointing, there were several subjects he was curious about. ¡°Can¡¯t I just take four and skip class when I need to do anything else?¡± That was something he had learned from Will. After a particularly brutal day of swordsmanship training, Will had the great idea of skipping class. He was happy he didn¡¯t skip with him, because when Will returned, Archie was more than pleased to dole out punishment. His question didn¡¯t make her happy. Mia¡¯s jet-black eyes narrowed at him. ¡°You can¡¯t just-¡± ¡°What an excellent idea!¡± Kayla was quick to interrupt Mia, earning a glare. ¡°There is no punishment for a Housing District 1 student to skip class.¡± Mia, although slightly put off, wasn¡¯t finished. ¡°That¡¯s improper, besides it would be a massive waste of your credits.¡± Dante pulled out his identification card. ¡°How much could they cost?¡± Name: DanteThe narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Classification(s): Warrior Living Quarters: Housing District 1 ¨C Building 43 ¨C Floor 3 Arena Rank: Gold (232/825 Credit Earned) Arena Team: None Arena Team Rank: N/A Credit: 232 It had taken him 25 credits to move from bronze to silver, at 2 credits per win. Then to get to gold rank, he needed to reach 225 credits total, at 4 credits per win. And from the gold match he had won earlier, he had earned 6 credits. Getting to his current total had taken quite a while, and a lot of saving, so he was quite proud of his 232 credits. Mia thought about it for a moment. ¡°It depends on the class, some of them are more expensive due to instructor limitations, and others can be more expensive if they require the use of valuable resources¡­ I think that almost all of them are between 25 and 1,000 credits.¡± Dante¡¯s heart skipped a beat. ¡°1,000?¡± That wasn¡¯t good news, he had been counting on abusing all that the academy had to offer as quickly as possible so that he could leave. It seemed like everywhere he looked, someone was trying to use him for something, and Kayla¡¯s new attitude was only making the feeling much worse. The main reason he hadn¡¯t just run off in the middle of the night was because he still hadn¡¯t learned mana manipulation, it was something that he would need before leaving the academy. Kayla saw Dante¡¯s reaction and smiled mischievously. ¡°Actually, the most expensive class is 10,000 credits.¡± Dante looked back down to his identification card, and the 232 credits he had been so proud of only moment ago. Mia just rolled her eyes at Kayla, visibly annoyed. ¡°Only one class is that expensive. And that¡¯s only because House Calman supplies the creatures for taming from their own bestiaries.¡± His head perked up. ¡°How does taming work?¡± Kayla covered her giggle with her hand. ¡°It¡¯s so cute when you act like a simpleton.¡± Dante glared at her. He was pretty sure that if she weren''t acting so nice to him, the insult wouldn¡¯t have been blunted by calling him ¡®cute.'' Seeing his glare, Kayla stopped laughing immediately. ¡°Taming isn¡¯t a big deal, it¡¯s just binding yourself to a creature through a mana contract.¡± Not a big deal? It sounded like a pretty big deal to him. Mia saw his excitement and tried to let him down easy. ¡°Don¡¯t get too ahead of yourself. If you don¡¯t have a Tamer Classification or one that is similar, you can only bind yourself to one creature. Not only that, but if the creature has higher Intelligence than the person it¡¯s bonded to it will turn on them¡­ or if it¡¯s intelligent enough, use the bond to control the person that forced them into the contract.¡± Mia¡¯s bad news didn¡¯t really faze him, he hadn¡¯t even known that taming was possible a few minutes ago, so the limitation of only one bonded creature at a time didn¡¯t mean much to him. All he needed to do was make sure his Intelligence was higher than the beast he bonded, and he would be fine. Seeing Dante¡¯s lack of negative reaction, Mia continued, as if breaking the terrible news to him. ¡°It¡¯s not as simple as you think. Any powerful creature worth bonding with would have far higher Intelligence than the average human. Since you don¡¯t have a magic Classification, and therefore don¡¯t gain Intelligence attributes from leveling your Classification, you won¡¯t be able to bond with almost any creatures.¡± Before he could even react to her words, Mia continued on hurriedly. ¡°But don¡¯t worry, there are still some useful regular creatures that you could bond with. A horse, for example, or possibly a bird for scouting.¡± Dante glanced to Kayla checking her reaction, but there was no change in her expression. He was still unsure whether or not she knew about his Classifications. Kayla caught him glancing and smiled encouragingly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the academy sells basic bonding contracts forstupidanimals. You can probably get one for as cheap as 50 credits.¡± She walked up and latched onto his arm as if to comfort him, but if anything, he was only more uncomfortable. Her words caught his interest. ¡°Basic bonding contract?¡± Kayla nodded. ¡°A basic bonding contract allows for someone to bond a creature with 10 Intelligence or less. They are useful for non-magic Classifications because that¡¯s around their limitation.¡± ¡°Does that mean there are stronger contracts, how would someone get one?¡± He was afraid that his question might be a bit too revealing, but the two of them knew of his curiosity. After all, he had just taken a fireball in the arena for the opportunity to learn more about mana manipulation. Kayla glanced upward for a moment, thinking his question over. ¡°Contracts are made by Tamers, and the contracts strength is dependent on the resources used, as well as how many times the Tamer has specialized. They usually only make contracts for others if they are supplied with the resources required and a fee, but since the academy¡¯s Tamer is an instructor, she is supplied with the resources to make low-level contracts for student¡¯s use.¡± Dante opened his mouth to ask what resources were required for contracts when he was cut off by a mouthful of hair. Mia abruptly grabbed his arm and spun on her heels while utilizing her surprising Strength. It simultaneously broke Kayla¡¯s grip on his arm, which he was thankful for, as well as flung her hair black hair into his open mouth as she spun, which he could have done without. ¡°We are here.¡± Not pausing for a moment Mia pulled him into the class selection building. Chapter 32 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 32 Upon entering the building, Mia ignored the long line of people and led Dante towards a large board to the side of the room. ¡°These are the available classes, separated by the time they start and organized by their credit price.¡± His attention was instantly drawn to it. The board was divided into four different sections; 7:00 am, 12:00 pm, 5:00 pm, and 10:00 pm. Looking at the times, he couldn¡¯t help but wince. He knew that they would all be four hours long, but with an extra hour between each class, they may as well have been 5 hours each. Against Mia¡¯s judgment, he was planning on taking the maximum four classes, but now he was seriously reconsidering it. He wasn¡¯t sure if he would even be able to keep up with that kind of schedule, and even if it were possible, he would severely miss the time lost with his bed. Dante took a deep breath, even if it would be difficult, he needed to maximize his gains with the time he was spending in the academy. Besides, if he took four classes, there was no way Kayla was going to as well. That thought alone was enough to warrant a torturous schedule of four classes. Dante began by looking at the first section, which was the 7:00 am classes. It was the most limited selection by far. Several classes had to do with different types of weapon mastery in world essence manipulation, and their counterpart, the advanced versions. Dante glanced toward the advanced world essence manipulation class for swordsmanship for a moment, but his eyes were drawn to the last two classes on the list; mana manipulation and advanced mana manipulation. One nice thing about the classes was that they were all 25 credits for the regular version, and 50 for the advanced version. Since 25 credits was the cheapest a class could be, he thought the prices were pretty good. Dante turned to Mia. ¡°What are the requirements for the Advanced classes?¡± ¡°It depends on the class.¡± She pointed to the advanced world essence manipulation class. ¡°But you''re more than ready for the advanced class, so I wouldn¡¯t worry about it.¡± That was something he was well aware of. Actually, to the best of his knowledge, there was nothing that he really needed to learn in advanced world essence manipulation class. The class focused on weaponizing world essence, then teaching techniques to improve control over the world essence. Thanks to Archie¡¯s teaching style, and Mia¡¯s techniques, he was pretty confident the only thing he would get out of the advanced class was more pain at the hands of Archie, who he was told would still be his instructor. ¡°What about for something like mana manipulation.¡± Mia¡¯s eyebrows knit together, and she looked like she was going to ask him something when Kayla cut her off. ¡°In order to be qualified for advanced mana manipulation, you need to first be able to internally control your mana, then push it out of your body. But I wouldn¡¯t recommend taking mana manipulation, even though you¡¯ll be able to use it, it¡¯ll be close to useless without a magic Classification.¡± He needed to find a way to justify taking a mana manipulation class¡­ Something was strange though, Kayla¡¯s description of mana manipulation sounded oddly familiar to the way he increased his awareness of world essence through Mia¡¯s technique. It could mean that he could take advanced mana manipulation immediately. Dante turned to Mia. ¡°Isn¡¯t that the same as-¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, taking mana manipulation is a waste of your time.¡± Mia¡¯s sudden interruption surprised him, but he got the message. Dante scratched his chin as he stared at the board, trying to act like he was lost in thought over which class to take. ¡°I don¡¯t think there is anything else for me to learn in advanced world essence manipulation, and since Archie will still be my instructor I would just be signing up for a beating every day¡­¡± He turned back to the two of them. ¡°I think I¡¯m going to take advanced mana manipulation. Even if I can¡¯t learn mana manipulation at a level that would be useful, I think that it would still be a good opportunity to learn more about its strengths and weaknesses without needing a healing session.¡± He finished the act by gesturing to his singed uniform. Mia looked like she was thinking it over, but Kayla just smiled mischievously. ¡°It would be mypleasureto demonstrate mana manipulation for you. It would be excellent one on one time.¡± Dante just stared at her, eye twitching. Then Mia spoke up, putting the final nail in the coffin. ¡°Kayla has a valid point. Besides, I can just request a new instructor for your advanced world essence manipulation lessons.¡± Dante glared at Mia. Whose side is she on? He struggled to stifle his groan. There was really no other reason to learn mana manipulation that he could think of. After thinking it over, he decided to go ahead and do mana manipulation regardless. He may need to leave the academy earlier than he planned if someone got too suspicious, but he needed to at least learn the basics before that happened. Dante rolled his eyes. ¡°As much as I wouldloveto spend one on one time with you Kayla, I think I would learn better from a real instructor.¡± Then he looked over at Mia. ¡°And if I did get a new instructor for world essence manipulation, I think Archie really would kill me.¡± Kayla stuck her tongue out at him. ¡°You¡¯re no fun.¡± Mia had a look of hesitation on her face, but just nodded in acquiesce. Seeing their reactions, he had to stop himself from releasing a sigh. Dante turned back to the board, inspecting the 12:00 pm section. There were quite a few classes that caught his attention, but it was unfortunate that most of them were too expensive. He now only had 182 to work with, given the fact that he was going to spend 50 to take advanced mana manipulation. Two that drew his eye in particular were Dungeoneering and Advanced Dungeoneering, but they were 500 and 1,000 credits respectively. Taming was also on the list for 10,000, which was almost disappointing to look at. There were also a few others in his price range that caught his eye. Basics of Alchemy for 25 points, and Identifying Potions and their Value for 50. Basic Blacksmithing for 25, Woodworking for 25, and a few other crafting skills, but they all seemed to be based around making and repairing weapons. He was slightly disappointed with the second selection, all of the classes seemed to be based on different types of crafting professions or just understanding the professions better. It was strange that Dugeoneering was a part of the list though, it was something he would need to look into later. He was going to go with the Potion Identification class, which seemed like it may come in handy one day. When he finally made it to the bottom of the list and saw a class that drew his eye; Basics of Enchanting for 70 credits. Dante turned to Mia. ¡°Is the Basics of Enchanting class only for Enchanter Classifications?¡± He had meant to learn more about enchantments for a while now. Mia seemed pleased with his question. ¡°Actually, it¡¯s the opposite, Basics of Enchanting is for non-Enchanter Classifications. The class gives an overview of how enchantments are created and also teaches how to identify different types of enchantments as well as traps. It would be a great option for you, and its actually the class I would recommend.¡±Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Based on Mia¡¯s explanation of the class, the information he could learn might be invaluable. He hadn¡¯t heard of enchanted traps before, but the fact that it was a possibility wasn¡¯t surprising in the least. ¡°No, No way. Pick something else.¡± Kayla had a look of mortification on her face. ¡°That is a commoner class, I can¡¯t be seen in there.¡± That made his decision final, he would be taking Basic Enchanting. Dante looked back to Kayla and nodded at her words, almost reassuringly. Seeing her placated expression, he turned back toward the third section, which was for the 5:00 pm classes. These classes seemed to be far more varied than the other sections, so he carefully read through each listing. Looking at the list Dante began to frown, and as he slowly made his way to the bottom, his frown only deepened. All of the classes were expensive. There were a few that he could afford with his remaining 112 credits, but he would be severely limited in moving forward to his fourth selection¡­ and all of those classes that hecouldafford seemed completely useless. Dancing for 50? What are they thinking? Basics of Acting and Lying was 85, which seemed ridiculous, but it was the only one he thought may be useful. There was an Etiquette class for 60, but after living with Mia his etiquette was passable at the very least. It improvedespeciallyquickly in the few days when Mia had been mad at him. The only classes that were under 150 credits seemed to be geared toward minor lessons that nobles would learn. Dante turned to Mia and pointed to Basics of Acting and Lying. ¡°Is this class even worth taking?¡± Mia nodded, surprising him. ¡°It¡¯s actually a class focused on Charisma.¡± She cleared her throat. ¡°You may find it useful.¡± Her words caused Kayla to smirk. A class on Charisma would be more than a little useful¡­ Still undecided, he chose to look at the 10:00 pm classes first to see what he would be able to take with 27 credits. Surprisingly, and to his relief, all of the classes on the list were 25 credits. None of them wereexceedinglyuseful, just four classes on different subjects; History of the Goddess, Origination and History of Wraiths, Guide to Magic Relics and Artifacts, Creatures and their Eating Habits. The fact that all four of them only cost 25 credits meant that he could take Basics of Acting and Lying. But he was having a hard time choosing one. History of the Goddess was the first he crossed off the list, it just didn¡¯t seem like something that was as useful as the other three. He also dismissed Origination and History of Wraiths. He knew everything he needed to know about Wraiths already; if you see one run, and if it tries to collar you, kill yourself. That seemed to cover everything, and where they came from wouldn¡¯t change anything. The last two were harder to choose between. Learning more about different types of creatures was something that would be immensely helpful for his survival after leaving the academy, but the ¡®and their Eating Habits¡¯ gave him misgivings regarding the class. Most likely it was from the time he spent walking with Edward, and the man¡¯s incessant talking about what mice ate and what ate them, forhours. The last class, and the one he was considering the most, was Guide to Magic Relics and Artifacts. Dante glanced down at his combatant¡¯s glove, if it weren¡¯t for the glove, he wouldn¡¯t have even considered the class over Creatures and their Eating habits. The glove had to have some uses, itabsorbedblood and Classification marks. Dante looked away from the board. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve chosen my classes.¡± He looked at Kayla, somewhat smugly. ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be able to take them all, it¡¯s going to cost 230 credits.¡± Kayla puffed out her chest with pride. ¡°I already have a little over 3,000 credits.¡± What the fuck.
After finally ditching Kayla, he and Mia began walking back toward Housing District 1. The sun was already beginning to set, but the two of them still took their time. Now that the first semester was finished, and the second had yet to start, there was no longer an enforced curfew. It seemed like the academy¡¯s liveliness had also increased since the semester ended. The streets were flooded with vendors hawking their wares, drunk students, and couples who were out for a late-night stroll. It was like a week-long celebration that was finally coming to a climax. Dante turned to Mia. ¡°Do you want to get something to eat on the way back?¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Mia seemed to think it over in a blatantly overexaggerated manner, eyes glancing upward as she pondered his question. ¡°Let¡¯s eat there.¡± She pointed. Following the path of Mia¡¯s gesture, he was surprised to see a restaurant. He had never eaten at a restaurant before, and it wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want to, there was just never an opportunity. ¡°Are you sure you want to eat there?¡± Mia gave him a roughish smile. ¡°Of course I am, let''s go.¡± She snagged his hand, and he allowed himself to be dragged into the restaurant. Upon walking into the restaurant, the waiter by the door saw his Housing District 1 uniform and was immediately flustered. ¡°Welcome to the Silver Pig my lord.¡± The waiter bowed quickly. ¡°Could I interest your lordship in one of our private rooms?¡± He hadn¡¯t realized how out of place he was until the waiter greeted him. Looking around at the other patrons of the restaurant, he realized that he was the only ¡®noble¡¯ there. There wasn¡¯t even anyone from Housing District 2 or 3, there were only regular students. He glanced over to Mia, wondering whether or not she would want a private room, and was surprised to see the way she seemed to take in the restaurant. There was a smile on her face as her eyes seemed to bounce from the cooks in the kitchen, to the waiters carrying the food, to the tables where others were eating. If he didn¡¯t know any better, he would have thought it was her first time eating at a restaurant and not his. Dante cleared his throat. ¡°Mia, did you want to eat in a private room?¡± She answered the question somewhat absentmindedly. ¡°Sure.¡± Dante turned back to the waiter, who seemed baffled by his interaction with a servant. ¡°We will take a private room.¡± The two of them were led to an isolated room that had a table made for two. The waiter handed him a menu. ¡°Here you are my lord.¡± Then he looked uncertain as he turned to hand Mia a menu. ¡°¡­My lady. I¡¯ll be back in a few minutes to take your order, please take your time.¡± The waiter was clearly confused by their relationship dynamic as a master and servant, and it was somewhat amusing to watch him rush out of the room. Picking up the menu, he began to look through it. Being a common restaurant that wasn¡¯t visited by nobility, the selection was rather limited. There were several choices, but they mostly consisted of soups and cuts of meat served with vegetables. His eyes were drawn to one of the pricier items, vermillion scaled lizard served with assorted vegetables for 50 copper coins. It was by far the most exotic item on the menu, and ¡®assorted vegetables¡¯ seemed vague, but he couldn¡¯t resist the temptation of trying something he hadn¡¯t eaten before. Dante glanced up to Mia to see what she was going to order, and was surprised to see how happy she seemed as she slowly worked her way down the menu, carefully reading each option. Her behavior had been somewhat odd ever since they walked in the building. ¡°Is this your first time eating at a restaurant?¡± Mia glanced up at him, and her smile faltered. ¡°I used to frequent them quite often with my mother, but I haven¡¯t been to one in several years.¡± Judging by her reaction, it was a touchy subject, and he regretted bringing it up and ruining her mood. ¡°Does anything on the menu sound good to you?¡± ¡°Right now I¡¯m between the potato soup, the garden minestrone, and pork cutlets with carrots. What about you?¡± As Mia listed off the several menu items that caught her interest, her smile slowly returned, and he had to stop himself from sighing in relief. ¡°I¡¯m considering the vermilion scaled lizard.¡± Mia maintained her smile, but it seemed slightly more forced. ¡°That may not be the best decision.¡± He looked at her curiously. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Vermillion scaled lizard is a creature that is served in high-end restaurants. If they are serving it here for only 50 copper coins, the meat will likely have been cut from the leftover carcasses thrown out by those establishments.¡± He frowned, that didn¡¯t sound very appetizing. At that moment the waiter came back in the room to take their order. ¡°What would you like to eat my lord?¡± Dante glanced up to the waiter, according to the adequate Mia taught him, she should have been the first to order. ¡°You can take her order first.¡± ¡°Of course my lord, I¡¯m terribly sorry.¡± The waiter seemed to become even more flustered. If their status were the same, Mia would have ordered first. The waiter clearly believed that he had misread the situation and offended him. ¡°What would you like my lady?¡± There was almost no hesitation when he said ¡®my lady¡¯ this time. The treatment, or just his manners, seemed to make Mia even happier. ¡°I¡¯ll take the garden minestrone.¡± She handed the waiter her menu. ¡°Excellent choice my lady.¡± The waiter turned toward him. ¡°And you, my lord?¡± The vermillion scaled lizard definitely didn¡¯t seem like a great option anymore, so he decided to follow Mia¡¯s expertise. ¡°I¡¯ll do the same.¡± ¡°Another excellent choice, I¡¯ll have it brought right out.¡± The waiter quickly collected the menu¡¯s and rushed out of the room. ¡°Dante.¡± He looked up to Mia. ¡°Yes?¡± Mia averted her gaze slightly. ¡°Thank you.¡± The words took him off-guard, they seemed to come from nowhere. ¡°For what?¡± A slight tinge of crimson appeared on Mia¡¯s face. ¡°You¡¯re the first friend I¡¯ve had in years.¡± For a moment the two of them just stared at each other. He didn¡¯t know what to say, he didn¡¯t even know how to feel. He finally had a real friend. Chapter 33 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 33 Layla Calman Layla¡¯s nails clicked against the desk as drummed her fingers. The report in front of her was troubling, Kayla¡¯s actions made no sense, unless she knew something... Layla looked at the spymaster her father had assigned to them. ¡°How did she even find out about him?¡± ¡°I believe Sir Andres used her to lead Greggory Tibbott to the arena.¡± Layla rubbed the bridge of her nose. She couldn¡¯t fathom how Sir Andres could have been so useless as to use Kayla from HouseStavins. ¡°Tell me, that at the very least, Dante didn¡¯t see her in the arena.¡± The spymaster in front of her finally showed some form of emotion, and seeing his hesitation, she decided she could have done without it. ¡°It is a possibility¡­ She sat in the Housing District 1 section during the fight.¡± ¡°Idiots!¡± Layla balled up the report in front of her and threw it at the spymaster, bouncing it off of his bald head. ¡°Why would he not use someone more disposable?¡± The spymaster¡¯s calm expression didn¡¯t change at all. ¡°Shecouldbe disposable.¡± Layla jabbed her finger toward the report she just threw. ¡°She is in all four of his classes, in what way do you think that she is disposable now?¡± She took a moment to calm herself. She hadn¡¯t met Kayla personally, but judging by some of the things in her report, Kayla should have been killed long ago. ¡°Why wasn¡¯t she disposed of already?¡± ¡°From what I have read, our agents have found her unique skill set to be useful for jobs that need a¡­ subtle touch.¡± He motioned to the report. ¡°Not only has she been successful in all of her missions, but she hasn¡¯t left a trace in any of them.¡± Layla snorted. ¡°You call this not leaving a trace?¡± The spymaster had the decency to at least look embarrassed. ¡°This wasn¡¯t the sort of job that she specializes in.¡± ¡°What of Mia¡¯s recent reports, does he suspect Kayla of anything?¡± The spymaster stepped forward, handing Layla the papers in question. Layla read them over carefully, and the more she read, the closer her eyebrows were drawn together. ¡°He¡¯s taking advanced mana manipulation? How was thisnotin Kayla¡¯s file.¡± She had a hard time processing the information through her anger. It stated that he was only taking the class because he wanted to learn more about mana manipulation, but if he had a magic Classification¡­ Even though it was close to impossible for someone to inherit both a magic and non-magic Classification, it was still worth looking into it. Layla raked her hand through her hair. She didn¡¯t have time for this, she needed to continue to focus on the campaign preparations. ¡°Where in the hell is Alexander? I don¡¯t have time to do all of this myself, and that damn headmaster keeps getting in my way.¡± The spymaster looked away. ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± Layla was breathing heavily, she attempting to reign in her anger, but it was a losing battle. ¡°Where is he?¡± It was hard to get the words out through her gritted teeth. The spymaster cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable. ¡°There was a new shipment of¡­ servants, and he went to, uh¡­ inspect them.¡± ¡°Are you fucking kidding me?¡± He should have been dealing with headmaster so she could actually getsomethingdone. ¡°Tell Alexander that if I evenseethe old bastard today, I¡¯ll havehimcastrated.¡± She was so mad that she couldn¡¯t even think straight. She motioned for him to leave. ¡°As you command, my lady.¡± The spymaster turned to leave. Layla rubbed her forehead. ¡°Wait.¡± ¡°Yes, my lady?¡± ¡°Put someone you trust in his mana manipulation Class, I want adetailedreport of his progress.¡±
¡°Wake up.¡± ¡°No.¡± He felt a jab to his side and released a groan. ¡°Give me a few more minutes.¡± Mia was standing over him, looking quite haggard. ¡°I already did, get up, or you¡¯ll be late for your advanced mana manipulation class.¡± Her words drew out another groan. He couldn¡¯t be late for his mana manipulation class, the old bastard of an instructor already hated him enough. Dante utilized all of his willpower and threw himself off of his soft and warm bed. He laid sprawled out on the wood floor, getting a few extra moments of rest before sitting up. Three hours of sleep just wasn¡¯t enough. Mia looked inside his room, and seeing him awake, she smiled kindly¡­ She looked like she was moments away from passing out. Seeing her, Dante couldn¡¯t help but grimace. Mia had seen better days, the bags under her eyes were well defined, making her look rather ghastly. ¡°I think I can find my way to class today, maybe you should take the day off.¡± ¡°If you really think that¡¯s a good idea¡­¡± Mia was unable to even finish her sentence, she just slumped to the floor and passed out. Dante got up and stifled his yawn. The new schedule was brutal, he was averaging around three hours of sleep a night, and had only been doing it for about a week. He was beginning to regret taking four classes. He didn¡¯t regret it because he lacked sleep though, the new knowledge he was learning was invaluable. No, the reason he regretted it was because of what it was doing to Mia. She had been doing her best to support him, not only following him around to his classes and making sure he kept to his schedule, but by also using the small amount of time they had during the night to prepare food for him to eat between classes the following day. He was averaging around three hours of sleep a night, but Mia couldn¡¯t be getting more than one. Walking over to Mia¡¯s unconscious body, Dante picked her up and carried her to her bed. After tucking her in, and then stifling yet another yawn, he walked back toward his room and began to get ready for the day.
Only thirty minutes later, Dante found himself inside of the mana manipulation training room. ¡®Room¡¯ wasn¡¯t really a good description of it, it was almost exactly like one of the arenas, but lacked the stands for spectators. Everything else was the same, down to the enchantment protection bubble surrounding the area they trained in. ¡°I told you we should have skipped that boring artifact class, you would have had plenty of sleep.¡± Kayla was standing over him. One of the neat tricks he had learned was that if he arrived before a class started, he could take a nap and Kayla would wake him up. She smirked. ¡°If only you could see yourself right now.¡± Is she even human? He couldn¡¯t fathom where Kayla got so much energy. She was always with him in every single class, yet she wasn¡¯t tired. At all. He had never even seen her yawn. Dante shot up, Kayla only arrived just before instructor Arin each morning. He almost made it up, when he heard the nasally voice behind him. ¡°Ah, I see it¡¯s too much to ask for a student that doesn¡¯t slack off before class each morning. Despite my constant reminders.¡± Shit. Dante spun and stood attentively towards instructor Arin. He had already sat out during a class as punishment for sleeping in the mana manipulation room. He almost preferred Archie¡¯s form of discipline¡­ almost. Instructor Arin saw his expression and smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t have time for you today, we need to update everyone else¡¯s Status for manipulation.¡± ¡°Pardon?¡± Instructor Arin just snorted through his hooked nose, then began to speak slowly, as if to an imbecile. ¡°When you were swinging your sword around like a savage and began to learn how to pump world essence into it, it¡¯s the thing that your savage of an instructor forced into you.¡± Dante¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change, he was used to the instructor¡¯s prejudice against non-magic Classifications. ¡°My instructor didn¡¯t force anything into me.¡± Instructor Arin smirked and reached up confidently to slick back what was possibly a full head of hair at one time. He couldn¡¯t tell what the instructor was trying to accomplish by doing it, but it resulted in greasy strands of hair sticking the man¡¯s shiny dome, which was sickening to say the least. ¡°Why does that not surprise me?¡± Dante tried not to react to the horrific sight in front of him, but Kayla didn¡¯t hesitate. Her face was scrunched up in revulsion. ¡°You¡¯re absolutely disgusting.¡± Instructor Arin¡¯s face flushed red. ¡°I¡¯m terribly sorry miss Stavins.¡± Despite the instructor¡¯s many terrible qualities, the man wasn¡¯t a hypocrite. He valued one¡¯s ability above all else, as long as they had a magic Classification. So, even though he despised Dante, who was a ¡®Warrior,'' he also saw himself to be completely bellow Kayla, who he praised as a protegee in mana manipulation. Instructor Arin cleared his throat. ¡°As I was saying. Your instructor was most likely smashed once too many times in the head and completely forgot about updating your Status.¡± He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bag. That was unlikely, Archie had left out more than one thing he thought was useless to their training, this was likely just one of those things. Archie may have been a demon incarnate as an instructor, but his methods were far more effective than any of the other instructors in yard one. Instructor Arin began to dig around in his sack. ¡°Alright everyone, fall in.¡± He wasn¡¯t sure who ¡®everyone¡¯ was, but he and Shan walked forward. Kayla just stood back, inspecting her nails. ¡°I¡¯ve already eaten a manipulation crystal.¡± The three of them were instructor Arin¡¯s only students. Unlike the world essence manipulation, mana manipulation classes weren¡¯t divided by nobility. There were too few commoners with a magic Classification to warrant a separate class, which is how they had someone like Shan in their class. Shan was strange. The first day that he met Shan, he tried to be friendly, thinking it would be nice to talk to someone who wasn¡¯t a noble. But the boy just completely ignored him. Every class, he would just stand and watch everyone else expressionlessly. He wasn¡¯t sure if Shan had a poor experience with nobles in the past, making him reluctant to talk to him or Kayla, but something about Shan made him keep his guard up. Instructor Arin held out two tiny crystals in his hand, they were the size of small seeds and looked similar to the manipulation orb that Archie had given him. ¡°Alright, infuse these so we can get on with our lesson.¡± Shan immediately took his and swallowed it, and Dante watched closely. He had severe trust issues after having Archie as an instructor. After a few minutes, there were no adverse reactions. All the evidence in the situation led him to believe that the manipulation crystal wouldn¡¯t harm him, so he took it and swallowed it. ¡°Alright, fill it with your Mana.¡± He began to fill the essence crystal up with his Mana, it was tiny, only a fraction the size of his manipulation orb, so it filled rather quickly. As soon as it reached capacity, the crystal shattered and there was a burning sensation in his wrist. Dante stared down at his combatant¡¯s glove, interested in the new development. He was itching to open his Status, but he wasn¡¯t going to do it in front of Kayla, much less instructor Arin or Shan. Instructor Arin saw him looking at his glove. ¡°You can waste time on your own time.¡± He snorted as if it was some clever joke. ¡°Let¡¯s get started with the lesson. Create your mana shield.¡± They all began to form their basic mana shields. Kayla was finished first, hers was by far the densest. Shan created his after, it was what Dante assumed would be average for a new student in advanced mana manipulation. Or at least, it¡¯s what he based his on. He formed his own mana shield, it was around half Shan¡¯s in density and took him twice as long to make. He was pretty sure he was underperforming, even for the average Warrior Classification, but he reasoned that underperforming was far better than overperforming in his situation. ¡°Excellent as always miss Stavins.¡± Arin gave Kayla a look full of admiration. ¡°Alright, I have alreadybestowedyou all with the knowledge of creating a mana shield. Today we will learn to strengthen it. Begin by creating a second Mana shield.¡± Arin had barely finished talking when Kayla effortlessly created her second shield. Showoff. Dante began to create his second shield also. ¡°When your second Mana shield is created, connect them with strands of Mana then pull them toward each other.¡± It took him a few more minutes than Shan or Kayla, but eventually, he was able to create and maintain his second shield. Maintaining the second shield was the hard part, it was like holding two different thoughts at the same time; he could only focus on one, but heneededto focus on both. As soon as his second shield was formed, he shot thin mana threads between the two shields and began to pull them together. It was difficult. Mana, as a rule, was a somewhat elastic substance when formed. Meaning that it had some give, but if you yanked on it too hard, it would just use the force to rebound after the thread snapped. ¡°Now that the shields are close together, interweave the mana threads inside of the shield with each other.¡± The entirety of the shield was actually several different threads of mana, which is why it seemed so soft and elastic. It was theoretically possible to control mana that wasn¡¯t in thread form, but the control that it would take was ridiculous. Mia¡¯s technique for spreading awareness was a good example. Not only could he only get the mana about an inch away from his body before it dispersed on its own, but the mana was too loosely packed to actually help in any form of defense. Mana strands were helpful to use because the Mana inside of the threads wouldn¡¯t disperse unless they were severed, and they were easy to use because they would automatically stick to each other. The only thing that took focus was maintaining shape, like maintaining his current shield wall. ¡°Force them into the same space, interlocking the threads, and fusing them to shrink the shield.¡± Dante frowned. His headache was already quite substantial, and he wasn¡¯t sure if he would be able to make it through today¡¯s lesson. As his two shields touched, he began to weave the threads together. Then, as the threads began to weave, he started to fuse them.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. His skull felt like it had been split by an axe, but the result was a single shield that had about twice the Mana density of the original. He couldn¡¯t help but have a newfound respect for the noble who had beaten him in the arena. The noble made it seem so smooth and effortless, combining several shields together in the span of only a few seconds. ¡°Well done miss Stavins.¡± Kayla was fusing shields one after the other, instantly fusing each one as soon as it touched. ¡°I suppose that the two of yours are passable.¡± He indicated towards Dante¡¯s and Shan¡¯s shield. ¡°Focus on this until the end of class, I¡¯ll see you all tomorrow.¡± He had never thought that he would miss Archie so much. Arin only spent a few minutes with them each day, then left them to practice on their own. Letting out a sigh, he pushed through the pain of his headache and began to practice.
¡°Get up, I¡¯m not going to sit with thesecommoners.¡± Kayla kicked him in the shin, which he was grateful for. His enchantment class was the one he looked forward to the most. After a few hours of practicing mana manipulation, he had sprinted to his next class. He was quite pleased with how quickly he had made it with his jarring headache, and was pretty sure it was a new best time. Happy to have almost a full 40 minutes of sleep, he sat down at his tiny desk and took his nap. But it felt like he hadjustclosed his eyes when Kayla woke him up. Dante shot up and looked around. The room that had just been empty when he first rested his eyes, which felt like only a moment ago, was now fully filled with other students. It was nice to see all of the ordinary people in his class. All of them were commoners, talking about what they were going to do after class got out or the latest gossip. He couldn¡¯t help but look at them with longing. On the first day of class he had tried to talk with them, but his pristine Housing District 1 uniform stood far apart from their tattered and refurbished uniforms. Needless to say, it was difficult. And that was before throwing Kayla into the mix. He wasn¡¯t sure if she was purposefully rude, but the ring of empty seats that surrounded the two of them was the direct result of her offhanded remarks. It was strange that their instructor hadn¡¯t arrived yet, Kayla usually only woke him up immediately before the start of a class, which he was grateful for. ¡°Where is instructor Linty?¡± Kayla just shrugged, she was always in a foul mood during their enchantment class. She thought the entire thing was an embarrassment. ¡°How should I know?¡± It was interesting that she always woke him up before the enchantment class, but also did her best not to talk to him. Letting out a yawn, Dante propped himself up on his desk, doing his best to stay awake until the instructor finally arrived. ¡°I¡¯m not going to ask, you do it.¡± ¡°He won¡¯t say yes to me. You do it, you¡¯re a girl.¡± The voices caught his attention. He wouldn¡¯t have noticed them if they weren¡¯t trying to whisper, but their attempt only caused their voices to pierce the air. Dante looked over to see a flustered girl with a bright red face admonishing the boy next to her. ¡°That¡¯s not fair. You do it.¡± Both of them had plain faces with brown hair and eyes. He couldn¡¯t help but find their look refreshing after all of the ¡®beautiful¡¯ or ¡®handsome¡¯ nobles he had dealt with. The boy briefly glanced over toward Dante. ¡°It would-¡± He froze, as if just realizing that Dante was watching them. The boy stood up and hurriedly bowed toward him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, my lord. I didn¡¯t mean to offend you.¡± He wasn¡¯t sure what the boy was talking about, and was about to say so, when the boy picked pulled up the girl next to him and got her to bow as well. ¡°Don¡¯t blame my brother, my lord. It was my fault, we didn¡¯t mean to talk about you behind your back.¡± What is going on? Dante looked at Kayla, checking to see if she knew what was going on. Kayla had a look of amusement on her face, and her hand was covering her mouth like she was trying to hold in laughter. ¡°Um¡­ Its fine, don¡¯t worry about it.¡± This situation was awkward, and everyone in the class was now looking at the three of them wide-eyed. ¡°Did you want to ask me something?¡± His question made the girl break out into a broad smile, but she seemed to think it was inappropriate because it disappeared shortly after. She cleared her throat. ¡°My lord, Haden and I are fighting in the platinum ranked tournament, but our third team member is¡­ unable to continue in the tournament...¡± She looked like she was about to tear up, leaving almost no question about what had happened to their team member. The boy cleared his throat. ¡°What Jaseni was trying to say, is that we need a third member of our team to continue in the tournament, and we were wondering if your lordship,¡± He glanced at Kayla ¡°or your ladyship, would be willing to grace our team with your presence.¡± He was interested in fighting in the tournament, if only for the combat experience, but he didn¡¯t have time for it. ¡°I would be willing to help you out, but I¡¯m afraid my schedule is full.¡± The girl, Jaseni, quickly spoke up. ¡°There are only two fights left in the tournament, and they are both tomorrow. It wouldn¡¯t take more than a few hours of your time.¡± ¡°And If we win, you can have the dungeon boss to yourself.¡± Haden was also speaking quickly, he seemed overly flustered and desperate. Those words actually got his attention though, if the tournament¡¯s reward was access to one of the academy¡¯s dungeons, acquiring the monster crystal could be an invaluable once in a lifetime opportunity. He was about to accept their offer when Kayla, who was sitting next to him, snorted. ¡°As if we would join your suicide run.¡± Both of their expressions instantly turned downcast. She turned to Dante. ¡°These two morons forgot to mention that to register for the three versus three tournament they needed a full five team members, if they are looking for a new member before the semifinals it means thatthreeof them died, not one. It¡¯s what happens to all commoners who arestupidenough to compete.¡± Jaseni wasn¡¯t done trying. ¡°If one of you joined our team, no one would try to hurt us.¡± Kayla was having none of it. ¡°Get lost, we¡¯re not interested.¡± Dante glared at her, that attitude was the reason everyone avoided him in the class. He was interested in the tournament though. After all, he was quite confident in his ability to survive in a fight, at least long enough to surrender. ¡°There are only two fights left in the tournament?¡± At his words, Kayla rolled her eyes. Jaseni nodded enthusiastically, giving him a pleading look. ¡°Yes, the fights are both tomorrow, and we don¡¯t know anyone who is willing to fight in a platinum rank team battle on such short notice...¡± He thought it over for a moment. Fighting in the tournament would be risky for several reasons, but the reward would be massive if they won. Besides, he already had a solid grasp on mana manipulation, so he wasn¡¯t sure how much longer he was going to be staying at the academy. Dante nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll fight in the tournament.¡± Both of them had a stunned look on their faces. Apparently, they had not expecting him to join their team. Then at the same time, they both lit up with a smile. ¡°Thank you, my lord.¡± Haden puffed up his chest. ¡°You won¡¯t regret this. With your help, we will win for sure.¡± Jaseni nodded along to his words. ¡°The first fight is in the platinum team arena at 8:00 am, and if we win, the second fight will be at noon.¡± Skipping mana manipulation class to fight in the arena sounded terrific, and that was without mentioning the extra hour of sleep he would be able to get since the fight started an hour later than his class usually did. ¡°That sounds good, we can meet there before the fight.¡± To his dismay, as soon as they confirmed their meeting location, the two of them returned to their seats across the room. Leaving him alone with Kayla. ¡°You do realize that you¡¯ll regret that, right?¡± Dante rolled his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be fine.¡± He actually wasn¡¯t, and was somewhat worried about the outcome of the tournament, but Kayla¡¯s attitude wasn¡¯t helping in any way. Kayla didn¡¯t respond, but Dante was still curious about something. ¡°Why were they so afraid of me at the beginning.¡± Kayla shrugged. ¡°The academy is a place to gain strength, naturally that comes with a few inherent risks. Commoners generally aren¡¯t treated well.¡± She winked at him. ¡°Not everyone is as nice as I am.¡± If that was the case, they were treated far worse than he thought¡­ The door to the classroom burst open, and Instructor Linty¡¯s bulky form crossed through the doorway carrying a massive sack over her shoulder. The woman didn¡¯t look the part of the instructor, more like a burly nursemaid, or possibly even an ordinary cook. Instructor Linty was actually his favorite instructor, she seemed the most excited to share knowledge with her students... Well, besides instructor Misa. She walked toward the middle of the room and dropped the sack on the floor with an audible thunk. He thought that the floor actually shook slightly when it hit the ground, but wasn¡¯t sure if it was his imagination. ¡°You should have seen the tiny stone those stingy bastards wanted me to bring to class.¡± She began grinning in satisfaction. ¡°But they couldn¡¯t stop me. Take a gander at this pretty thing.¡± Instructor Linty opened up the sack, revealing a massive rock that resembled slightly translucent obsidian. Holy shit, is that¡­? Everyone in the room recoiled from the stone, even Kayla. ¡°By the looks of it, more than a few of you actually know what this is. This Chaos stone, although low grade, is from the Chaos region.¡± No shit. But why is it here? ¡°But I¡¯m sure what most of you don¡¯t know, is that it is actually used to produce the most important ingredient for enchantments.¡± Instructor Linty patted the stone proudly. ¡°Over the last week we have gone over different types of enchantments and traps, along with their uses. But today I will show you where the most important ingredient to create enchantments comes from.¡± ¡°First I will allow you all to experiment with it. Go ahead and try anything you would like. World essence manipulation, mana manipulation, or even just opening your Status.¡± Even though they all knew about the Chaos region, and what a Chaos stone was, none of them had actually been near one. This was a surprisingly good opportunity. He had been planning on crossing the Chaos region eventually, and the more information he had the better his chances would be. Dante began by trying to manipulate world essence into his Status to open it. As expected, there was no world essence to manipulate. He couldn¡¯t findanyin the area around him. Next, he closed his eyes, trying Mia¡¯s technique to spread his awareness. He had slightly more luck that way. There was a small amount of world essence in the air, but as he tried to grab control of it, it seemed to be sucked out of his grasp as it shot towards the stone. After that, he tried mana manipulation. He was able to make a small shield, startling the class, but for some reason, it was far weaker than it should have been. ¡°As you now know, all the world essence in the room is being sucked into this Chaos stone.¡± Instructor Linty pointed to the rock. ¡°The lack of world essence also makes mana manipulation twice as difficult.¡± She pointed toward Dante¡¯s weak shield. ¡°If you ever are ensnared in a Chaos stone trap, keep in mind that you can still use your skills, but your mana will regenerate at half the normal rate.¡± He had no intention of testing that. Both of his mana costing skills weren¡¯t something that could be used in front of others inside of the academy. ¡°You see, Enchanters grind Chaos stones into a fine powder. The powder is the power source for all enchantments. The higher the Chaos stone¡¯s grade, the more world essence the created powder can absorb, and therefore the larger or more complex the enchantment that can be created.¡± Instructor Linty patted the stone. ¡°As a general rule, enchantments that can be activated by a single person feeding world essence into them are made using low-grade powder. Higher grades of powder will generally require multiple people feeding in world essence, or the use of essence crystals to power them.¡± That meant that the battle simulation enchantments were made with some form of higher grade powder. Instructor Linty was getting far more excited, talking faster and becoming more enthusiastic. ¡°There is also other types of stones in the Chaos region. For instance, one is called Superior Chaos stone, and is similar to regular Chaos stones, but is slightly red in color. Its powder can make enchantments that sustain themselves, and don¡¯t need to be fed with world essence. But superior Chaos stone is exceedingly rare, even in its lowest grade is worth more than the entirety of most noble houses in the Outer region.¡± All of the commoner students in the class gasped at her last remark. The rest of the class wasn¡¯t that fascinating, instructor Linty just went over different methods and processes for grinding the stones down into powder, then went over the pros and cons of each approach. Needless to say, he listened with rapt attention When the class was finally over, hours later, Dante shot out of his desk. Running past Haden and Jaseni without a word, intent on making it to the next class in time for a longer nap. It usually took him 30 minutes to run there, but he was confident that if he didn¡¯t pause to eat like he usually did, he could get there in 20.
¡°Get up.¡± He received his usual kick to the shin, thoroughly waking him up. ¡°Here.¡± Kayla put a cloth-wrapped bundle on his desk. He began to carefully unwrap the bundle, slightly fearful of what may be inside. ¡°What is it?¡± Kayla sat down, head resting on her hand, this was another class that put her in a foul mood from the boredom. ¡°Food.¡± Inside of the bundle was a small loaf of bread. To his delight, it was still warm, and Dante tore into it like a ravenous animal. He hadn¡¯t eaten since the day before. ¡°Thanks.¡± Kayla looked disgusted. ¡°You can thank me by eating like a human and not some beast.¡± Dante gave her a lopsided grin, and then the two waited for their instructor. Basics of Acting and Lying didn¡¯t seem like a very popular class. On the first day there were four other nobles, but after a few classes they stopped showing up, and now it was just him and Kayla. Instructor Misa walked through the door with a strut to her step. ¡°Ah, my darling Dante, so good to see you.¡± Instructor Misa walked right up to Dante, then held his face between her hands. ¡°Today, I will fill you withgreatness.¡± Dante smiled back at her, doing his best to keep a straight face. Instructor Misa was a borderline elderly woman who padded herself with a mask of makeup to make herself look younger, but if anything, she just looked like some of the cheaper whores he had seen in Alazel. Despite her looks, she was a fantastic instructor and spent absolutely all of the class time solely on him. ¡°We have been teaching you how to lie, now it is time to learn how to detect lies by reading someone¡¯s facial expressions.¡± That was a nice change of pace. ¡®Teaching him how to lie¡¯ was sitting in front of a mirror while instructor Misa pointed out any changes in his facial expression, body language, or eye movement for four hours. From what he learned in her class so far, Charisma was based mostly on reading people, and your ability to stop other people from reading you, and not likability or looks like he had thought¡­ even though those still played a role. ¡°I will show you how it works, Kayla tell me either a truth or a lie.¡± Instructor Misa turned to Kayla excitedly, ready to show her ability. Kayla¡¯s expression was still one of boredom. ¡°This class is so boring that I¡¯m considering suicide.¡± Instructor Misa looked slightly put down from Kayla¡¯s words. ¡°Uh¡­ that was true. Try again, maybe something that isn¡¯t so morbid?¡± Kayla smirked at her. ¡°Dante has black hair and blue eyes.¡± ¡°Also true¡­¡± Instructor Misa looked at Dante for a moment, then felt his hair as if looking for some type of dye. She then cleared her throat. ¡°I think you should use me for practice.¡± Instructor Misa looked at him with a broad smile. ¡°Alright Dante, it¡¯s your turn.¡± She paused as if thinking about what she would say. ¡°I am still a virgin, is that the truth or a lie?¡± Is she serious¡­? Dante stared into her mask of makeup, instructor Misa had to be into her 50¡¯s, even by his lowest estimate. Dante hid his wince, then cleared his throat. ¡°That was the truth.¡± Kayla burst out laughing, and instructor Misa smiled broadly at him. ¡°Unfortunately, that was a lie.¡± Her expression turned smug. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I should have started off with an easier question. That was my fault.¡± He had to stop himself from sighing in relief, he had almost been honest and told her it was a lie. ¡°And your lying has improved tremendously, I¡¯m so proud of you!¡± Of course¡­
Dante grunted as he received a jab to the ribs. That was his usual indication that his last class had started. His final class, Guide to Magic Relics and Artifacts, was located in the platinum solo arena. Because there were only four ¡®lecture¡¯ classes each quarter, and because they only cost 25 credits, each lecture was filled to the brim with students and held within an arena. Apparently, the lectures changed each quarter and covered a wide variety of subjects. Kayla woke him up just as instructor Kane began to step up to the makeshift stage in the center of the fighting pit. Dante mentally prepared himself, Guide to Magic Relics and Artifacts was his hardest class by far. Professor Kane was having a hard time getting onto his stage, not only was he incredibly short, but he was also incredibly old. The combination was truly detrimental to the weathered old man¡¯s mobility. It took instructor Kane almost a full minute to finally make it to the top of the stage. The old man opened his notes and then raked a hand through his surprisingly full head of white hair. ¡°Let¡¯s begin.¡± Instructor Kane¡¯s voice sounded far too old and tired, just those few words threatened to lapse his concentration. He sat up straighter, keeping his back off of the chair to stop himself from dozing off. ¡°In the past week we have finished our introductory information on magical artifacts. Today we will begin to learn about magical relics and their significance.¡± Thank the Goddess. After an entire week of learning about magical artifacts, he had learned nothing that furthered his knowledge of the glove. ¡°Unlike magical artifacts, magical relics aren¡¯t created by humans, ancient or otherwise. Who or what may have created them is a hotly debated topic, some say the Goddess¡­ which is false, some say otherwise, but that isn¡¯t important for this course. We are not learning about possibilities that are unimportant to the matter at hand, but rather what has been proven as fact, or theories that are backed by numerous thorough studies.¡± ¡°That said, factual information on magical relics is hard to come by. All the information that we have is what has been handed down from the inner region, where these relics exist.¡± ¡°The first, and most important thing that separates artifacts from relics is their source of power. Unlike artifacts, which always use mana, relics can use a wide variety of sources depending on the relic. Some use world essence, some use rare gems or metals, some have even been said to use emotions. The quantity of the resource required depends on the relics strength itself.¡± Dante perked up, instantly wide awake. So far instructor Kane¡¯s description of relics power sources was possibly the same as his combatant¡¯s glove and its blood absorption. ¡°This brings me to the most important piece of information regarding relics. Unlike artifacts which have a set strength and power when they are created, relics can evolve over time by feeding them the resource required. It is even possible for them to have more than one ability.¡± Dante¡¯s eyes were wide. Assuming the glove was a magic relic, all he needed was more blood for the glove to be useful¡­ ¡°The ability to evolve may seem powerful, especially in comparison to artifacts which lack the ability, but that is rarely the case. Unlike artifacts, which are created almost exclusively for combat, relics are created for a multitude of uses. It is theorized that the creators just made whatever they thought would be useful at the time. Therefore, most of them have no practical use and are mainly kept as a show of power in the inner region.¡± That was a slight let down. ¡°So, you may be asking yourselves, why were they created to evolve through the absorption of resources if the relics themselves were created for a direct need? But that reasoning is thinking about the situation entirely backward.¡± ¡°It is the current belief that relics deteriorate over time, or from being used, and that the resources used to restore them were the key ingredients that were used to create them originally. Even though it is still a theory, it is a widely accepted one that none of my colleagues have disputed.¡± Instructor Kane spent the rest of the lecture citing his sources, and explaining the experiments that have been done to back up his theories on relics. Try as he might, Dante began to lose focus in the last hour. He needed blood, and a lot of it.
¡°I¡¯m so sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to fall asleep.¡± Upon walking into his residence, Mia met him with a deep bow. ¡°Its fine, I gave you the day off.¡± He didn¡¯t have the energy to placate Mia. Dante walked past her, directly into his room and onto his bed. He was almost too tired, but his curiosity got the better of him. He opened up his Status and checked the new Manipulation tab that was inside of it. World Essence Manipulation: Maximum Mass: 1.78 Form Control: 1.46 Form Speed: 2.83 Mana Manipulation: Maximum Mana: (1.7*1.10) 1.87 Form Control: (1.9*1.2) 2.28 Form Speed: (1.9*1.1) 2.09 It was surprising that the numbers for world essence manipulation and mana manipulation were so similar when he seemed to much further along in world essence manipulation. But thinking back to Mia¡¯s words about mana manipulation being harder to utilize when its first learned, it made some sense. The mana manipulation was strange though, at first glance, he was thoroughly confused. But after thinking over how mana manipulation was tied to Wisdom and Intelligence, he could assume that the 1.7 came from his 17 Intelligence, and the 1.9 came from his 19 Wisdom. That meant that the max mana he could use was dependent on his Intelligence. He could also assume the form speed and control was dependent on Wisdom. The other number was probably the base amount of mana, control, or speed he had trained in his week with instructor Arin. Dante rubbed his eyes, unsure of what he was still doing awake. He had agreed to fight in the platinum ranked arena tournament, so he needed to be awake the following day. Closing out his Status, he went to sleep. Chapter 34 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 34 Edward Ailloss ¡°My lord, I have news from the academy.¡± To the guards¡¯ relief, he stopped their sparring session. The twenty or so guards helped each other off the ground, many of them nursing small injuries. Edward turned to the old spymaster. ¡°Tell me, at the very least, that Sam is finally there. I¡¯m beginning to think sending him was a mistake, no one else can keep up with even basic swordplay.¡± Varik paused. ¡°He arrived a few days ago and is already in position. But the news I brought is slightly more significant.¡± Edward gave the man his attention, the past few weeks had been rough. Without Sam, the only person he could spar with evenly was Helena, and just thinking of her wrath caused a shiver to shoot down his spine. She hadn¡¯t appreciated their daughter running away, even if he had a good reason to force her into a marriage. Needless to say, he was eager to have Sam back. ¡°What is the latest development?¡± ¡°It seemed that there is an influx of specialized combatants in the academy, and not just from House Calman.¡± Varik paused. ¡°I still can¡¯t be sure, but from the information that my agents have gathered, it is likely House Ramotar.¡± ¡°What?¡± Edward paced back and forth for a moment, thinking over the implications of what Varik had just said. House Ramotar would have had to send the combatants months in advance, around the same time Dante entered the academy. ¡°Do we know why?¡± Varik hesitated. ¡°One of my agents has discovered a possible cause, but it is still just conjecture.¡± He was getting somewhat impatient, and waved Varik on. ¡°I prefer to only relay things that I can be certain of¡­¡± Varik released a sigh. ¡°One of my agents was stationed in House Danton for the last twenty years, and he swears that the boy¡¯s servant bears a strong resemblance to Mia of House Went.¡± Edward froze. ¡°How sure is he?¡± ¡°It¡¯s hard to say. House Went was eradicated over twelve years ago, Mia would have only been seven years old¡­¡± Varik¡¯s tone made his doubt clear. ¡°That said, my agent swears by it, and the servant bears the same first name.¡± Edward paused his pacing and rubbed his chin in thought. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make any sense, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to keep it a secret for so long¡­ if they are using her out in the open as a servant. Besides, after his sister¡¯s death Damian Ramotar utilized the best Seers, and they all came to the conclusion that there were no survivors of the attack.¡± ¡°I agree my lord.But¡­ if it really is Mia of House Went, it may substantiate some of the rumors surrounding House Calman.¡± He thought it over for a moment. Would the Calmans really use Wraith Collars? ¡°How much would Mia know about House Ramotar¡¯s manipulation techniques?¡± Varik thought over the question for a moment. ¡°It¡¯s hard to say, but based on the information I have regarding House Ramotar, even at the age of seven, she would have at leastsomeknowledge regarding their world essence control techniques¡­ as long as her mother began training her early.¡± Edward was having a hard time holding back his cursing. If House Calman learned how to amplify their world essence control through mana, as a house of magic Classifications, they would be far too dangerous. ¡°Get a message to Damian, we need to find out if his niece really was captured by the Calmans. I need an answer,quickly.Offer our support if you need to.¡± Edward began to pace again. ¡°Tell Sam to prepare himself, we may need to take Dante out of the academy immediately. We can¡¯t let him get caught up in the fighting if the academy turns into a war zone.¡± ¡°Yes my lord.¡± Varik limped off, eager to accomplish his new orders. If the Calmans were truly responsible for eradicating House Went, a house war would be starting soon. Edward released a sigh, it may be time join forces and crush House Calman.
Mia let out a sigh. ¡°I still can¡¯t believe you agreed to join a commoner team.¡± Dante looked over curiously. ¡°It can¡¯t be that bad, can it?¡± Mia thought about it for a moment. ¡°¡­ I suppose not. You have the protection of House Calman, they have all but claimed you. Still, commoner teams don¡¯t fare well in the arena.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t killing get a team disqualified and banned for three days?¡± Mia nodded. ¡°Killing the opponent will ban your team, resulting in forced disqualification, but if you¡¯re already going to lose, there are no real repercussions.¡± She glanced back at him. ¡°Any noble would be disgraced by losing to a commoner team, so as soon as defeat is obvious, they go for killing blows.¡± That meant he would need to keep his guard up if the fight turned in their favor, even if it was unlikely that he would be the one targeted. ¡°That changes in the tournament final though. The three-day ban doesn¡¯t start until after the fight is concluded. If a commoner team makes it to the final, the opponents will go all out from the beginning. To the best of my knowledge, only one commoner team has ever won a platinum tournament, and there was only one student alive on the team when the fight was over.¡± Dante paused mid-step as he processed Mia¡¯s words. ¡°Why would any commoner fight in the tournament?¡± Mia shrugged. ¡°They are probably desperate. Students at the academy are eager to be employed by a noble house in the Outer region, but to do that they need to have the strength required.¡± That seemed to contradict something that Alexander had told him. ¡°I thought that all of the combatants go House Calman after the academy?¡± Mia shook her head. ¡°No, they only take the strongest combatants, the rest are sold to smaller houses that they control.¡± ¡°Sold?¡± She rolled her eyes. ¡°Of course, the Calmans provide free resources to thousands of students as well as compensate lords for recruiting for them, where do you think they get the money?¡± ¡°I was told that the academy is free for combatants.¡± The new revelation was making his head spin, it sounded like slavery. Mia nodded. ¡°It¡¯s free for the first quarter, when they are sifting through the students for the ones with the most promise, but to stay after that first quarter, all of the commoners have to sign a mana-bound contract.¡± The academy was continually disappointing him time and time again. But he thought, that at the very least, the other commoners were getting a useful experience out of it. His opinion of the Calmans just hit rock bottom. ¡°What do they agree to in their contract?¡± ¡°It depends on their potential. The weakest students sign for twenty years of service, and the most brilliant students only have five years of service, but usually its somewhere in between.¡± Mia shrugged. ¡°For some of them it¡¯s not a bad deal, the contract requires free food and shelter to be given to them, even though they don¡¯t get paid.¡± Mia glanced back at him. ¡°For others¡­ it can go bad. For example, if a lord finds a new mine but doesn¡¯t want to pay for Miner Classifications, they can just buy up the cheapest contracts from the Calmans for cheap labor. Needless to say, the best option is to gain power while still at the academy. The contract price will increase with a combatant¡¯s strength, and their chances of being a casual guard for a noble house will increase along with the price. If I had to guess, at least one of your teammates already has a buyer for their contract, and the circumstances are less than favorable.¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Dante walked the rest of the way to the arena in stunned silence. Thatwasslavery, even if it only lasted until the contract expired. When he arrived at their meeting place, Jaseni rushed out to meet him with a smile on her face. ¡°You came!¡± Then she seemed to remember herself, her smile disappeared, and she bowed. ¡°I mean, thank you for gracing our team with your presence my lord.¡± She was carrying a sword, likely a Warrior Classification Before he could even say anything, Haden came up behind her. ¡°Please forgive Jaseni¡¯s poor mannerisms, my lord, we aren¡¯t used to being in noble company.¡± Unlike Jaseni, Haden was carrying a shield, leaving him guessing at what Haden¡¯s Classification could be. The shield was massive, almost as tall as his entire body and had a grate to see through where his eyes would be. Dante cleared his throat. ¡°There is no need to treat me like a lord.¡± Haden bowed. ¡°Of course, my lord. We should hurry to the arena, they are waiting for us to start the fight. Please follow me.¡± He turned toward one of the corridors. Then Jaseni gaveanotherbow before turning and following Haden. Really? Dante just watched them walk away for a moment. Then, letting out a sigh, he followed. As he caught up to the two of them, Haden looked back at him. ¡°My lord, do you know the rules of team battles? The moderator won¡¯t go over them before the start of a semifinal tournament match.¡± ¡°I know the rules for a one on one fights, but not team fights.¡± Haden nodded. ¡°They aren¡¯t much different. The main difference is that a team fight is only over whenallteam members surrender or are unable to continue. Also, mana manipulation and world essence manipulation can be prepared prior to the fight.¡± That was a nice change, but not necessarily for him. It meant that his speed in world essence manipulation would count for little¡­ The fact that everyone had to surrender themselves could be dangerous as well. ¡°Sounds simple enough.¡± Jaseni nodded excitedly. ¡°Yes! Now all we need to do is add you to our team.¡± Then, almost as an afterthought. ¡°My lord.¡± The two of them led him toward a receptionist who added him to the team and updated his Identification card. Name: Dante Classification(s): Warrior Living Quarters: Housing District 1 ¨C Building 43 ¨C Floor 3 Arena Rank: Gold (232/825 Credit Earned) Arena Team: Hope Arena Team Rank: Platinum Credit: 2 Seeing his identification card, Dante turned toward Jaseni and Haden. ¡°Hope?¡± Haden scratched the back of his head, clearly embarrassed. ¡°Uh¡­ Jaseni thought of it, my lord.¡± Jaseni¡¯s face turned crimson. team name was incredibly depressing. And now there was an awkward silence between the three of them. Unsure of where to go from there, he spoke up. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we get to the arena now?¡± Haden nodded. ¡°Yes, we should hurry.¡± The three of them found an attendant and were led toward the entrance of the fighting pit. ¡°You know the rules, but remember, no fighting until the moderator starts the match.¡± Dante followed Haden and Jaseni''s example by nodding. As soon as their attendant received a sign from the moderator, he motioned them in. ¡°You may enter.¡± The three of them walked into the fighting pit, and he was more than a little nervous to fight in his first platinum fight, and not to mention one where two other people would rely on him. Completely ignoring his surroundings, Dante focused in on their three opponents who were entering the arena from the other side. There were two nobles from Housing District 2 and one from Housing District 1, who seemed to be the group¡¯s leader. He assumed that they knew who they were fighting, but hadn¡¯t heard that he was filling as a teammate. Because as soon as the three nobles walked into the arena, their sneers turned into frowns. The two from Housing District 2 had swords, but noble from the Outer region was carrying a bow. He hoped that the archer just had a Ranger Classification, which focused on increasing the power or speed of projectiles with its skills, some of the other ranged Classifications were far more dangerous. ¡°I¡¯ll handle the archer, the two of you can handle the swordsmen.¡± Haden¡¯s ability to take charge in the arena completely surprised him, his demeanor had changed entirely from the nervousness he had shown when bowing to him earlier, and was replaced by the confidence of a leader. Dante nodded back to him, as did Jaseni. Then, seeing the blue glow that began to fill Haden¡¯s shield, he started to fill his sword with world essence. He had been told that he had a full minute, so he packed it with as much world essence as possible before shaping it into a blade. As he began shaping the weapon, the blue protective dome began to surround the arena. ¡°The semifinal match between team Hope.¡± The moderator gestured to the three of them. ¡°And team Rising Phoenix.¡± He gestured to the other three. ¡°Will now begin.Fight!¡± As soon as the moderator started the match, the archer released an arrow straight at him. It wasn¡¯t a killing blow, the archer aimed for his leg and he was easily able to slice down in time with just his agility and dexterity, not even needing his Blade Dancer passive. He seemed to be picked out as the most significant threat, which he didn¡¯t understand. As soon as he blocked the first arrow, a second came right after, and then the other two nobles charged him with swords barred. He barely had time to bring his sword up to parry the world essence filled blade after he cut the second arrow out of the air. As the two swords collided, Dante released a grunt, the noble was far stronger than he had expected. He used the brief moment of respite that he had earned from blocking the strike to examine the battle, wary of a second sword or third arrow. He was relieved to see that Haden was in a position to block the Archer from shooting him, and Jaseni had somehow moved to intercept the second swordsman. She was far more agile than he had thought. All that was left was for him to focus on the single swordsman in front of him, even though he was still cautious of a stray arrow. After adjusting for the noble¡¯s strength, it wasn¡¯t hard to deal with him at all. After so many fights with Will, he knew how to best use his agility to avoid hard-hitting blows. The key was to not meet the attacks head-on. Instead, he merely deflected the strikes while simultaneously using his Agility to narrowly avoid them, using up the least amount of energy possible. He actually had many chances to end the fight, the noble had several holes in his guard which would have allowed him to easily slide in and finish the fight. He waited though, he didn¡¯t want to take out his enemy until at least one more of their opponents was defeated. If he took out his opponent prematurely, it might put Haden and Jaseni¡¯s life at risk. As his fight with the noble progressed, he used the brief moments when the nobles guard slipped to slash at the noble¡¯s sword. It would buy him a few seconds to glance around and see how the fight was progressing. Haden seemed to be having an easy time dealing with the archer, he was standing a few feet away from the him, entirely covered by his shield and ready to intercept any projectile that came near him. Anytime the archer thought of intervening in the swordfights, Haden would use the opportunity to get in close and try to bash him. It was a strange balance of offense and defense, and he couldn¡¯t believe how well Haden was stopping the archer from firing his bow. The way Haden moved was incredibly practiced and methodical. And the way the world essence on his shield was controlled was done skillfully enough to allow it to double as an intimidating weapon. Somehow Jaseni¡¯s performance was more surprising. He had taken her to be a Warrior, but apparently that wasn¡¯t the case. Her Agility and Dexterity were even faster than his own. She skillfully dodged her opponents swings completely, weaving in and out of each thrust while also managing to give the noble shallow cuts in almost every exchange. The two commoners were far more skilled than any nobles he had seen thus far. Dante refocused on his noble, waiting for Jaseni¡¯s opponent to bleed out so he could deal with his at the same time. ¡°Dustin, buy me time!¡± The opposing team¡¯s archer shouted out from behind Haden. The opponent he was fighting immediately disengaged, the noble spun on his heels and ran toward Haden as quickly as he could. He was slightly surprised by his opponents change in tactic, but he was waiting forsomething.Without hesitating, Dante charged his fleeing opponent and smashed the pommel of his sword against the noble¡¯s temple, causing him to fall unconscious and crumple to the floor. Dante sighed in relief, if his Agility hadn¡¯t been higher than his opponents, that could have ended badly. There was mocking laughter coming from the archer. ¡°I¡¯ll still kill that bitch!¡± Dante watched in shock as the archer sprang backward, away from Haden, and swung his bow to face Jaseni, who was still tied up in her own fight. Haden was on him immediately but was a second late. The archer completely ignored Haden¡¯s incoming threat. Releasing the arrow and taking Haden¡¯s incoming shield head on, which knocked him out. ¡°Jaseni!¡± Dante couldn¡¯t stop himself from yelling out as he charged toward her and her opponent. Thankfully, she seemed to process the shout in time to slightly twist away from the incoming arrow and just barely avoid a fatal shot to her heart, but it still slid into her ribcage with an audible thunk. Dante didn¡¯t pause, the arrow looked like it might have pierced her lung, and the noble who she was fighting was still attacking her. Jaseni barely managed to avoid a swing, then threw herself to the side, rolling on the ground and snapping the arrow that was piercing her ribcage, likely making the wound worse. The noble lunged toward her, intent on finishing her off. That was when he finally made it to them. Seeing the noble try to kill Jaseni, who was clearly out of the fight and defenseless, his rage flared. Seeing red, he snagged the noble by the shoulder and yanked him up so that they were facing each other. There was brief second when they looked each other in the eye, Dante smiled maliciously, only having a brief moment to see the surprise on the noble¡¯s face before he rammed his sword through the boy¡¯s gut. It was hard, but he stopped himself from twisting the blade and making his attack lethal. He wanted to. So badly. But after seeing what Jaseni and Haden went through to compete in the tournament, he wouldn¡¯t ruin their chances of winning. The moderator called out with a disinterested voice. ¡°Team Hope is the winner, Healer!¡± The healers rushed out. Immediately heading toward the noble that Dante had just rammed his sword through and ignoring Jaseni completely. Haden was now kneeling over her, doing his best to stop the bleeding, but the arrow had definitely pierced a lung and she was now coughing up large mouthfuls of blood. Furious and still filled with his bloodlust, Dante walked up to the two healers and yanked them up while jabbing a finger toward Jaseni. ¡°Get your ass over there and heal her before she dies.¡± ¡°My lord, we need to heal the nobles first. It¡¯s a part of the academy¡¯s standard operating procedure.¡± Dante smiled in response. ¡°If she dies, I will kill all three of them.¡± The healer audibly gulped, then nodded and hurried over to Jaseni. Chapter 35 Dante¡¯s Immortality - Chapter 35 Dante paced outside of the hospital, still furious. He glanced over to Haden, who was standing by the door with a worried expression on his face, waiting patiently for the healers to finish working on Jaseni. As soon as the fight ended they were forced to leave the arena so the other semifinal could begin, despite his protest. He didn¡¯t understand why the fight had affected him so drastically. Mia had told him that their opponents would be out for blood as soon as the fight turned in their favor. But something about the match was rage inducing. He had never lost himself like that before, and his emotions were still a mess. It had to be the pettiness. Killing in self-defense made logical sense. Even killing to gain power was something that he could have understood and accepted. But the way they tried to randomly kill someone who was practically enslaved to a mana contract didn¡¯t make any sense to him. If anything, they were only damaging House Calman¡¯s property out of spite. The door to the healer room opened, and Jaseni stepped out. Dante let out a breath of relief, other than her downcast expression, pale face, and evident exhaustion she seemed fine. As soon as Jaseni saw them, she lit up with a broad smile, and ran into Haden¡¯s embrace. The moment seemed incredibly personal, and awkward since he was there, so Dante was just turning to leave when Jaseni broke off from Haden and bowed to him. ¡°Thank you for waiting for me, my lord.¡± Dante tried not to groan, the last thing he wanted to be called at the moment was ¡®my lord.¡¯ He smiled back to Jaseni. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re okay, and you don¡¯t need to call me ¡®my lord¡¯, just call me Dante.¡± Jaseni nodded. ¡°Of course, my lor-¡± She paused, as if unsure of herself. ¡°I mean, of course¡­ Dante.¡± Haden scratched the back of his head and cleared his throat. ¡°Uh, thanks for getting the healers to Jaseni so quickly¡­ Dante.¡± He didn¡¯t see how saying his name could be so difficult, but progresswasbeing made. Haden seemed to be uncomfortable, so he gave a reassuring smile. ¡°It¡¯s fine, any teammate would do the same.¡± His words only seemed to make Haden, who was still scratching the back of his head, even more uncomfortable. ¡°Uh¡­ I really appreciate what you did for Jaseni, and I know how much going to the tournament final must have meant for you to have done it¡­ but I¡¯m not sure if Jaseni is in the condition to fight in the final.¡± He thought that I only got the healers so that we could fight in the final¡­ I suppose in his position that makes sense. Still, the Haden¡¯s words were reassuring. He had been trying to think of a way to get the two of them to drop out of the tournament, but didn¡¯t want to make the decision for them. ¡°I would have helped Jaseni regardless, and I don¡¯t mind dropping out of the tournament. The reward isn¡¯t worth dying over.¡± His words weren¡¯t received well, as soon as he said them, Haden and Jaseni¡¯s expressions immediately became downcast. Jaseni looked up, filled with newfound determination. ¡°I¡¯m fine. There is no need to drop out of the tournament because of a small injury.¡± Small injury? Instead of saying anything, Dante looked over to Haden. Whether or not they fought in the final wasn¡¯t his decision to make. The two of them had already made massive sacrifices to make it so far, and they were likely more aware of the dangers than he was, so it wasn¡¯t his place to make the decision for them. Besides, they seemed to have a reason to fight in the tournament that he was unaware of. Haden had a look of hesitation on his face for a minute, but gave a slight nod in the end. ¡°If you are still able to continue¡­ We should fight in the final.¡± Then the two of them looked at Dante as if wanting his confirmation. ¡°I¡¯ll fight, as long as the two of you are willing.¡±
It was unfortunate that healing Jaseni took so long. By the time they got back to the arena, the other semifinal fight was already over, so they had no idea who their opponents were. Without much else to do, the three of them stayed in the resting area until the final, trying to give Jaseni as much time to recover as possible. Even when it was time for the fight, they didn¡¯t move an inch until a flustered attendant rushed up to them. ¡°What are you doing? The moderator has already finished going over the rules for the crowd, and your team was announced, but you weren¡¯t there.¡± Dante glanced over to Jaseni and Haden, still hesitant, but seeing their looks of determination he released a sigh and stood to follow the two of them. None of them spoke on the way to the fighting pit, and their expressions sent a shiver down his spine. It didn¡¯t look like they were walking into a tournament fight, but to their death¡­ which wasn¡¯t unreasonable.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. This entire situation was unreasonable though. Just seeing their reluctance made his blood boil at the injustice. As soon as they made it to the entrance of the fighting pit the attendant spun on his heels and spoke quickly. ¡°You were already announced, so you will only be given one minute to prepare for the fight when you enter the arena.¡± He motioned the three of them forward, scowling at their slow pace. Taking a deep breath, Dante followed Jaseni and Haden into the arena, eager to size up who they would be fighting in the final. It seemed that all three of them were unprepared by the sight that greeted them because as soon as they saw their opponent, they all froze. Damn. He recognized all three, they were all sitting at his table during the party he went to with Kayla. It was Bridget and the two noblemen who were talking about whores the entire night. Dante turned to Haden and Jaseni. They were even more shocked than he was, which he couldn¡¯t understand, they shouldn¡¯t have interacted with nobles from Housing District 1. He waited for the signal to surrender the fight, which would have been more than sensible, but Haden and Jaseni¡¯s expressions both hardened. It seemed like there would be no surrender. He couldn¡¯t see things going well after having Bridget fight at the party. Even if she only attacked what was likely a corpse, her fireball skill was a cut above any he had seen thus far. The protective shield began to cover the arena and Dante began to fill his sword with world essence. The fight wasn¡¯t going to be as easy as the last one had been. Only one of the nobles had a weapon, which was a giant greatsword, and due to the mana shield, he could see that the other was a magic Classification. Unsure of what to do once the battle started, Dante turned back to Haden, ready to receive orders. Unfortunately, Haden also seemed unsure. He just stared down Bridget as he filled his shield with world essence. ¡°Did you really think that you could refuse my brother¡¯s offer?¡± Hearing Bridget¡¯s words, Dante was confused, but when he turned back toward her, he saw that she was talking to Haden, not him. Bridget had a haughty look on her face as she sneered at Haden. ¡°To think a mere commoner would deny a request from House Daynard. And you even tried to join House Calman¡¯s guard by winning this tournament...¡± She snorted. ¡°You won¡¯t live to regret it.¡± Bridget¡¯s words would have seemed far more menacing if her two teammates weren¡¯t merrily talking to each other. He found their lack of interest in the current situation far more disconcerting than Bridget¡¯s threats. Things were definitely going worse than he thought. ¡°Dante, handle the unarmed noble. Jaseni, you¡¯re on the greatsword. I¡¯ll take on the noblewoman.¡± At least he didn¡¯t hesitate when he said ¡®Dante¡¯ this time¡­ Haden¡¯s plan was better than anything he could think of, so he had no objections. Just after Dante readied himself to take on the unarmed noble, the moderator shouted out from the side. ¡°Begin!¡± He didn¡¯t hesitate, rushing out toward his target. Any mistakes on his part could cost Jaseni or Haden their lives. Dante charged towards the noble¡¯s mana shield. It was thick, far thicker than anything he could have created, but nowhere near Kayla¡¯s shield. Dante slashed the shield with his world essence filled sword, managing to cut through it, but barely. As soon as he withdrew his blade the shield recovered itself. Things didn¡¯t seem to be going well. The shield was a curved wall and didn¡¯t cover the nobles back, so with no other options, Dante began to sprint around to flank him. He was completely unprepared when aholeopened in the shield, just large enough for a green liquid to spray toward him. Dante rolled to the side, grimacing in pain and silently cursing instructor Arin as he felt some of the green substance splash on his arm and begin to erode his skin. How did holes opening in mana shields not get mentioned in any of that bastard¡¯s classes? He had no idea how to fight the noble. Every time he tried to get around the shield, he was cut off by the same green spray. If he tried to get out of range first, and then flank him, the noble would move towards either Haden or Jaseni. It was quite clear that he was just being toyed with, the noble didn¡¯t make a single move to truly harm him. They were only fighting for a few minutes when the arena lit up, and Dante heard inhuman screaming, far worse than Greggory¡¯s when his wrist was crushed. Shit. The sound was distinctly masculine and coming from where Bridget was fighting Haden. Dante quickly threw a glance over his shoulder to check the situation, expecting the worst, but nothing could have prepared him for what he saw. Bridget was standing over Haden¡¯s flailing body, throwing fireball after fireball down upon him as he released guttural screams¡­ and she was smiling. There was so much fire that he couldn¡¯t even see Haden, it was just a bright flailing mass that rolled along the floor as he tried to put out the flames. Dante was still taking in the horrific scene when he heard the second scream, it was far more ear piercing than Haden¡¯s. Dante spun on his heels, ignoring his opponent. ¡°Jaseni surr-¡± He was cut off by the sight of Jaseni¡¯s head falling from her body. As soon as Jaseni saw her brother dying on the ground and began to scream, the noble took advantage of her distraction to cut off her head. Dante stared at the scene in front of him in shock. He knew that their deaths were a possible outcome, but nothing could have prepared him for what had just happened, it was so sudden. So meaningless. Bridget began to laugh. Not as though she had gone mad, like he would have expected after burning someone alive, but as if she was delighted. Like the entire thing had been some game for her to enjoy. Bridget saw Dante¡¯s shock. ¡°You look so surprised, but what other outcome could a commoner expect when they act against the wishes of their betters?¡± She sneered. ¡°That is something that I think you should remember moving forward.¡± Dante¡¯s breathing was becoming uneven. He couldn¡¯t take his eyes off of Jaseni¡¯s face, even after death the shock of seeing her brother burn to death was still on her face. No one deserved to die that way. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we won¡¯t actually harm you. Go ahead and surrender like a goodcommoner.¡± The smell of Haden¡¯s burnt flesh finally reached his nose. It was completely sickening. Dante could feel himself losing control of his emotions, far worse than in the prior match. He could still resist, or at least he thought he could, but his desire to kill was so intense that refraining from it almost hurt physically. The noble behind him spoke up. ¡°Alright Bridget, you¡¯ve had your fun. Get him to surrender. You said you would pay for our whores if we helped you kill them, and I¡¯m getting bored.¡± Dante snapped. The small amount of control he was maintaining was gone. He packed as much world essence into his sword as he could, far more than he could control. Then, before anyone could react, he spun on his heels and stabbed his sword through the mana shield until the pommel slammed against the shield wall. He forced the Mana out towards the tip of the sword, instantly blowing everything but the hilt to pieces and killing the unsuspecting noble before he was even aware of what was happening. Dante turned back to face a shocked Bridget, giving her a wrathful glare while materializing two swords into his hands. Consequences be damned, he would kill them. Chapter 36 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 36 Bridget had a look of disbelief on her face as she took in the two swords in his hand and the dead noble who lay bloodied on the ground behind him. ¡°What do you think-¡± ¡°Spencer!¡± The other noble with the greatsword had none of Bridget¡¯s misgivings, he looked between his friend¡¯s corpse and Dante. His face twisting in anger. ¡°Bastard, I¡¯llkillyou!¡± Without the slightest hesitation, he charged. Dante began to fill the two swords he created with world essence, pumping as much as he could into the blades as the noble ran at him. ¡°Stop, youidiot. We can¡¯t kill him.¡± Bridget¡¯s words had no effect on the noble, and he was thankful for it, he ran to meet the noble¡¯s charge head-on. The first swing came in from overhead, slicing diagonally to his left shoulder. He was ready for it. More than ready, hewantedto be attacked. Dante brought up the sword in his right hand, connecting to his opponent¡¯s weapon with a shower of world essence sparks. The noble was strong, far stronger than anyone he had fought aside from sir Andres, and he was only able to marginally change the path of the greatsword¡¯s swing as his sword was knocked away. But it was enough. Dante ducked under the greatsword and pivoted on his right leg, twisting around and bringing the sword in his left hand down onto the back of the noble¡¯s ankle. The noble¡¯s Constitution was shocking. He should have sliced straight through the ankle with his world essence filled blade, but it only cut about an inch deep. Still, the strike was crippling. Dante immediately rolled away, putting himself outside of the greatsword¡¯s range, and in a position to watch both Bridget and the noble. He was relieved to see that she hadn¡¯t made a move yet, he had no delusions of being able to take on both of them at the same time without using Blink, which he was keeping hidden in case he needed to make an escape after the fight. The noble¡¯s face, which had been twisted in rage, was now contorted in pain. ¡°I¡¯llfuckingkill you.¡± He tried to limp forward but crumpled down to a kneeling position as soon as he put his weight on the bad ankle. Dante ignored him, a crippled swordsman was no threat, just someone to be handled at his leisure. He only needed to make sure the noble didn¡¯t surrender. Dante sneered, then pointed to the noble¡¯s kneeling form with one of his swords. ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be in a position to do so.¡± Then, to anger him further, Dante gave his full focus to Bridget, completely dismissing the downed noble. That should keep him from surrendering long enough for me to kill Bridget¡­ Bridget seemed furious but forced a smile. ¡°Don¡¯t be a fool. We are on the same side, but if you make a mistake now it will cost you your life.¡± She was trying to mollify him, but saying that they were on the same side only made him feel angrier. Bridget didn¡¯t even have a mana shield up, seemingly an easy target as a magic Classification. Dante began to walk toward her, swords at the ready, waiting to block any fireballs she might send at him.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Bridget saw him walking over, and her forced smile disappeared, turning into a sneer. ¡°Don¡¯t get too ahead of yourself.¡± He ignored Bridget¡¯s words. Using all of his Agility he dashed toward her until he was only inches away from cutting her with his sword. Bridget wasn¡¯t fazed in the slightest, she just lazily raised her hand, palm facing out toward him. ¡°Arron, make yourself useful and knock him out. Don¡¯t kill him, or I¡¯ll have you executed.¡± As soon as she finished saying that a force slammed into him. At first, it just stopped his forward momentum, but then he was blasted through the air. Damn. Dante was flying backward. Directly toward Arron, who he hoped would just knock him out instead of killing him like he had tried to do earlier. He was out of options, there no way he could turn mid-air and immediately defend against Arron¡¯s Strength. He had been saving Blink for an escape, but it wouldn¡¯t matter if he was already captured. Dante glanced back, Arron had gotten back to his feet and was holding his sword out in a ready position. He disappeared, then reappeared right in front of Arron. Dante slashed at Arron¡¯s neck, the momentum of Bridget¡¯s attack still aiding him to increase the force of his swing. There was a sickening thunk as his sword cut almost two inches into Arron¡¯s neck, it was like an axe embedding itself in wood. Dante watched as Arron reached up to feel the sword that was stuck in his neck, relishing the nobles fear and confusion when his hand came away bloodied. Dante, who was now standing a few feet away after being carried by his earlier momentum, completely ignored Arron. Unless he healed the wound immediately, it would be fatal. And even if he was treated, his chances of living were questionable. His full attention was now on Bridget, who was watching him in horror. He now knew two of her skills, and it was unlikely that she had a third, but underestimating her earlier had almost cost him dearly. He checked his mana reserves. Thankfully, he still had a little over 100 Mana left, more than enough to kill a magic Classification without a shield. Bridget saw him staring at her. Saw the killing intent in his eyes. ¡°Stop!¡± She held her hands up in surrender. ¡°I-¡± He wasn¡¯t sure what she was going to say, because as soon as her hands went up in surrender, he Blinked three times, putting himself directly behind her. There would be no surrender. Without hesitating, he brought his sword down and cleaved Bridget¡¯s head from her body. Dante watched as it tumbled to the ground. He turned to check on Arron, who was now dead from the wound in his neck. He even glanced over to check the perforated noble they had called Spencer. He didn¡¯t enjoy it like he thought he would, and It didn¡¯t satisfy him like killing Greggory had. Killing Arron, Spencer, and Bridget seemed so¡­ empty. Like there was no purpose. Dante glanced over at Jaseni and Haden¡¯s corpses. Bridget¡¯s death didn¡¯t mean anything, they were still dead. For a moment he told himself that she wouldn¡¯t be able to treat others like that, but Bridget wasn¡¯t the source of the problem, others would only take her place. Everything he had just done was meaningless. It was strange though, his desire to fight wasn¡¯t stopped, if anything it was still growing. ¡°The winner of the platinum rank tournament is team Hope.¡± Hearing the moderators voice only worsened his mood. ¡®Team¡¯ Hope was just him now. It may have been meaningless, but I don¡¯t regret anything. Dante walked to the entrance of the fighting pit, where the same flustered attendant from earlier tried to stop him. ¡°My lord, you must not lea-¡± Without waiting for the attendant to finish he shoved him to the side. It was time to leave this Goddess forsaken academy.
Layla Calman ¡°What?How long ago?¡± Her spymaster waited no time in answering. ¡°Only a few moments ago, I came immediately to relay the news.¡± ¡°Damn it!¡± Layla bashed the desk with her fist. ¡°Are you sure? He just vanished and reappeared in the middle of the fight?¡± A completely unknown Classification, and a creation Classification that makes weapons¡­ Layla was having a hard time controlling her breathing. She thought he might have a second Classification, butthree? The spymaster quickly nodded. ¡°Yes, multiple witnesses confirmed it. We need to actnow.¡± ¡°Goddess damn it.¡± Layla rubbed her forehead. ¡°It will be a waste, but we need to act before House Ailloss or Ramotar can make a move for him.¡± Layla took a deep breath. ¡°Have him captured,alive.I want him collared within the hour.¡± Chapter 37 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 37 As soon as Dante exited the arena, Mia ran up to him and grabbed him by the collar of his combat uniform, pulling him toward her with surprising strength. She looked anxious and spoke quickly. ¡°Did they know about your Classifications before the fight?¡± Dante shook his head. ¡°No.¡± Mia grabbed him by the arm and began to drag him through the academy streets. ¡°You need to leave,now. You don¡¯t have time to go back to Housing District 1.¡± Mia looked back for confirmation, and Dante nodded. He didn¡¯t need the warning. ¡°Good, keep your head down, we need to find a way to hide your hair and eyes.¡± Mia began to lead him down side alleys, furtively glancing behind them every few seconds. ¡°Keeping my head down won¡¯t help.¡± He had more than enough experience to prove that. Mia rolled her eyes. ¡°Obviously, but it¡¯s worth a shot.¡± Mia¡¯s attempt to help him drastically improved his mood, but he didn¡¯t want her to get in trouble because of him. ¡°Maybe it would be better if you didn¡¯t help me.¡± Mia glared at him, then spoke as if he were an idiot. ¡°How exactly do you think your chances of escaping would be better without me?¡± Dante cleared his throat. ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant. Won''t you get in trouble?¡± Before he could even react, Mia turned on him and smacked him in the head. Hard. ¡°Do you think that this is a game?¡± The blow was so hard that he wouldn¡¯t have been able to continue his pace if Mia hadn¡¯t been dragging him along. ¡°If you get caught yourlifewill be over.¡± Her words gave him pause. Would they kill him? Or was it something else? It didn¡¯t matter, either way he couldn¡¯t get caught. ¡°Where are we going?¡± She answered without hesitation. ¡°Youare going to ride in a wagon. It would be almost impossible to run away unseen because of the academy¡¯s geography.¡± For a brief second, he focused on the way she said the word ¡®you¡¯.Something about it was disappointing, but he wasn¡¯t sure what he had been expecting. He dismissed the thought, the second thing she said was far more important. He hadn¡¯t even thought that far ahead; his emotions, which were running hot from his fight in the arena, had been clouding his judgment. Dante took a few deep breaths. Distancing himself from the thoughts of Jaseni, Haden, and Bridget. The crater that the academy was located in would make escaping far too difficult. He would be in clear sight until he made it outside of the crater, and even then, the area surrounding the academy was mostly flat and open farmlands. Her plan was far better than escaping on foot. Mia cursed. ¡°They were faster than I thought.¡± She slowed their pace slightly, moving them into a dense crowd of people, and he was unsure of what she was doing until she yanked him sharply and they disappeared into a side alley that was only large enough for one person to walk through at a time. ¡°We won¡¯t have time to organize a wagon ride, you¡¯ll need to sneak on one.¡± The alley she led them down opened up into a wide street. As soon as they walked out, she led them in the opposite direction than they had been heading earlier. ¡°Shit.¡± Mia immediately cut back, turning completely around. ¡°I can hold them off for a few minutes, but that¡¯s all the time I can give you. Go straight down this road, there is a trading company at the end. Find a wagon on its way out and stow away on it.¡± She paused. ¡°Your chances of making it out aren¡¯t good, but I¡¯ll do what I can to stall them.¡± It didn¡¯t take him long to find out who she meant by ¡®them¡¯. Almost a dozen House Calman guards poured out of the side alleys in front of them. Dante glanced behind them, but the road was already blocked by half a dozen guards. Seeing them, he cursed. He recognized some of them, they were instructors from his Swordsmanship class. Don¡¯t tell me all of them are specialized¡­ We¡¯re screwed. Dante checked each of them, looking for a familiar face. He was relieved when he didn¡¯t find Archie, that would have only made the situation far worse. ¡°I¡¯ll open a path forward.¡± Mia glanced at him. ¡°Good luck.¡± To his shock, Mia¡¯s hands began to glow with world essence. He had never seen world essence that was so dense and compact, and the speed she was forming it was unreal, and she wasn¡¯t even packing it through a weapon or glove. Almost as soon as the world essence coalesced around her hands, it began to swirl down to her elbows. Spinning with incredible force. It was exactly like world essence around Aiden¡¯s spear, but there was two of them, one of each hand, and they were far more powerful. Without wasting any time, Mia charged forward, and he followed closely behind her. She quickly swept the guards to the side, none of them were even willing to come near her, as soon as she got close to them, they recoiled away. Then tried to attack him when she passed. Mia was ready for it though. One of the Swordsmanship instructors, the one who got in a fight with Archie on the first day of training, lunged toward him blade first. She didn¡¯t hesitate, slamming her hand into his world essence filled blade, shattering it instantly, and followed through until her hand penetrated the instructor himself. Dante didn¡¯t stop running when the instructor''s blood splattered across him. The man wasn¡¯t stabbed by Mia¡¯s hand, he wasshreddedby it. As soon as they made it past the group of guards, Mia spun on her heels, waiting to block any attackers and allowing him to pass through unmolested. Dante ran as fast as he could down the road, unwilling to waste a single second that Mia had given him. He pushed forcefully through the crowds, not allowing them to hinder his movement in the slightest. He was only three blocks away when he heard a hoarse scream come from behind him. Shit. It sounded like Haden¡¯s when he was burned alive, except feminine. Dante hesitated, unsure if he should continue to the wagons or not. If he went back, everything that Mia did would have been for nothing. But after a few seconds, the screaming didn¡¯t stop, it only became even more hoarse. Dante let out a deep breath, he knew it would be beyond stupid to go back, but if it was Mia¡­ He wasn¡¯t sure what he could do if itwereher, but for some reason, heneededto check. Dante looked around, checking to make sure there weren¡¯t any of House Calman¡¯s guards looking, then Blinked up onto the roof of the building next to him. Thankfully the buildings were close enough together that he could run all the way back to where he and Mia split up, jumping across the rooftops and only Blinking when he came to a connecting road. By the time Dante got to the rooftop that was overlooking the road where he had left Mia, the screaming had turned into guttural moans. Hesitantly, Dante looked over the edge of the roof, doing his best to remain unseen. Mia was writhing on the ground, back arched, and clawing at her throat while Sir Andres was holding a glowing violet colored orb while standing over her. Surrounding the two of them were almost forty guards, around half of them were armed with bows aimed at Mia. The entire road was soaked in blood and covered in chunks of human flesh. Most likely a result of Mia¡¯s ferocity against the guards before Sir Andres had arrived. Seeing Mia in pain, Dante¡¯s blood began to boil, and his jaw clenched. But the violet orb in Sir Andres hand made him want to kill¡­everyone. Mia had a wraith collar on all this time¡­ He had seen wraith collars on more than one occasion. Whenever one could be acquired by the head priest in Alazel, it would be sacrificed to the Goddess in a grand ceremony. The violet orb that Sir Andres had used though¡­ That was a wraith leash.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. His information on wraith collars and leashes was limited, but he knew enough. He hadn¡¯t thought his opinion of the Calman¡¯s could fall any lower, but this wasn¡¯t ¡®almost slavery¡¯ like the mana contracts. This was slavery. Now he knew what Mia had meant when she said he¡¯d lose his life if he were caught. Dante controlled his breathing. Regardless of the possible consequences, he needed to find a way to get Mia out. Sir Andres looked away from Mia, who had finally passed out. ¡°Where did he go?¡± One of the guards answered. ¡°We lost him when he went into the crowds.¡± The guard pointed down the road that he had just come from. Sir Andres called to order quickly. ¡°Split up into six units and fan out toward District 7. If you find him use your flares.¡± He gestured toward Mia. ¡°Tristen, your unit will deal with her, when you get to the garrison, arm the other guards with flares and send them out to search.¡± The words made Dante perk up. If Sir Andres took most of the guards, his chances of rescuing Mia would be far greater. The guards assembled into their units then took off down the street with Sir Andres in the lead. Six guards stayed to take care of Mia, and four of them were carrying bows. His chances were far better than if he had to deal with Sir Andres, but they still didn¡¯t look good. And if they were going to take Mia the academy¡¯s garrison he would need to act quickly. One of them picked up Mia and threw her over his shoulder before walking toward the garrison. He was followed carefully by the other five, four of which had arrows knocked. Dante took a deep breath. Rescuing Mia seemed impossible. It was likely that the guards were specialized, or just shy of specializing. Trying to save Mia would only end poorly. Yet¡­ he needed to. Just the thought of leaving Mia disgusted him. He didn¡¯t think he would be able to live with himself if he did nothing. It wasn¡¯t that he owed Mia anything, but¡­ there was no one else. No one who he had ever cared about nearly as much as he cared for her. No one who actually cared about him, and who would risk their wellbeing to help him. Mia was his first real friend, and her actions proved it. If he needed to die or even be enslaved to protect that, then so be it. Dante stalked through the rooftops, carefully watching the guards progress below. Ideally, he would have liked to take his time and pick the perfect moment to move. But the closer they got to the garrison the slimmer his chances of success would be. Dante created a narrow dagger, filling it with world essence and forming an edge. As soon as the guards met a crowd, he didn¡¯t hesitate. Dante Blinked twice, placing himself right in front of the man who was holding Mia and pierced his eye with his dagger. The man was dead, without a doubt. The blade pierced deeply into the guard¡¯s skull, but he met resistance when he stabbed theeye. He didn¡¯t know how much Constitution was needed to reinforce the eye to such an extent, but the fact that it managed to slow his world essence blade was ridiculous. As the corpse slumped to the ground, Dante pulled Mia off of its shoulder. He didn¡¯t wait for the others to react, he picked up Mia and ran through the crowd as quickly as possible, then cut to the side quickly as he saw an alleyway. Mia stirred slightly in as he grabbed her. She looked confused for a moment, then looked up toward him and mumbled. ¡°Dante¡­¡± Her words were barely audible. ¡°Idiot.¡± She¡¯s not wrong. As he moved through the alleyway, Dante glanced back and cursed. The archers were fast. All of them seemed to have at least as much agility as him, if not more. He was momentarily thankful that the fifth guard hadn¡¯t been able to keep up until a loud explosion sounded from behind him. Above their heads a massive blue flame shot in the sky, screeching with an ear-piercing sound as it flew above them. Things were only getting worse. It had to be the flare that Sir Andres had told them to use earlier. In a few minutes, guards from all around the city would be swarming towards him from every direction like a broad net. He had no idea where he should try to escape to. It seemed like there were no options. Things were going poorly, and that was before the archers started to fire at him from behind. Dante pulled Mia from his shoulder, holding her in front of him and protecting her from the arrows raining in from behind. The first shots weren¡¯t fatal, they were all aimed towards his feet, which were easily avoided by a combination of his Agility and Dexterity. ¡°Leave me you moron.¡± Mia seemed to be regaining her focus. As he held Mia, he awkwardly held out a hand and made a small dagger. It was awkward to hold her and the blade, but he needed a weapon in his hands for his increased ability with bladed weapons to kick in, and his other dagger was stuck in someone¡¯s head. After that, the arrows were easily avoided, he just needed to resist blocking them with his dagger and move out of their path instead. It was easy until they stopped aiming at his feet. Just as he was going to shoot out of the alleyway he felt three arrows aimed at his right side, so in an attempt to dodge them Dante moved to the left, and right into the path of a fourth arrow that he hadn¡¯t been able to feel. The arrow slammed into his left shoulder, and the impact was staggering. The force of the blow spun him until he was sideways, throwing him off-balance and causing him to lose his footing. Without hesitating, Dante threw himself to the ground while holding Mia up to protect her body from the fall. The arrow in his shoulder snapped as he impacted the floor, sending waves of pain through his body and forcing him to clench his teeth to stop himself from crying out in pain. Just as he skidded out onto the street, he felt a thud of impact on Mia¡¯s body and heard her whimper in pain. Shit. Dante immediately twisted, throwing Mia under him so he could block the arrows, but even as he pushed her under him, he saw yet another arrow slam into her ribcage, causing her to groan. ¡°Stop! I surrender!¡± An arrow slammed into his right shoulder, the sheer force of the impact launched him several feet away from Mia. She was staring at him, a slight smile on her face as she bled out on the road. ¡°Get a healer!¡± He was screaming the words at the top of his lungs as he tried to push himself closer to Mia so he could block the arrows. ¡°Hold your fire.¡± The shout came from the alley behind him. ¡°Halt!¡± Guards began pouring out of every alley and street, drawn to the flare. There were already almost a dozen surrounding him with weapons drawn. ¡°Don¡¯t move!¡± Mia¡¯s gaze went slack. Dante stopped crawling toward Mia, then pleaded with the guards. ¡°Please get a healer, I¡¯ll surrender.¡± Mia¡¯s body was now sitting in a pool of blood that was growing in size from two arrow wounds in her chest. One of the archers from earlier stepped forward and felt Mia¡¯s pulse, then cursed and faced the other three next to him. ¡°GoddessDamnit. Through the heart too, which one of you morons didn¡¯t pick your shots. Who do you think is going to explain this to Sir Andres.¡± He listened to the archer¡¯s words in disbelief. Mia is dead¡­? That¡¯s¡­ impossible. One moment she was alive and fine in his arms, and in only a few seconds she was completely dead. It didn¡¯t seem possible. He had seen others die just as easily, but he never imagined that it could happen to Mia. It was too sudden. Itcouldn¡¯tbe real. How could Mia have died just like that? And from an archer¡¯s mistake? No, it was real. This was just reality. And it was all his fault. He could have left her. Even slavery must have been better than dying. Buthehad gotten her killed. Dante looked away from Mia¡¯s body, he couldn¡¯t take the guilt. He couldn¡¯t process what was happening. He was struggling to breath, taking breaths in deep gulps. His chest felt like it was constricting, like something was boxing him in and suffocating him. He could feel the hot tears leaking from his eyes, but what right did he have to cry when he was the reason she had died? ¡°Alright, we can¡¯t change what¡¯s happened. Sir Andres should be on his way with a collar. Someone restrain the kid.¡± Dante felt a kick to the side. ¡°And make sure you cut the collar out of her throat before you dispose of the body, no use in wasting it.¡± Before anyone realized what had happened, before even he realized what had happened, the Archer who was talking had a dagger through his eye. There was a brief moment of silence, no one could understand Dante¡¯s sudden appearance in front of the archer and the archer¡¯s immediate death that followed. Then all hell broke loose. Dante lost control. He couldn¡¯t comprehend anything but his desire to kill. The archers were his first targets, the other three were taken down smoothly with their lack of Constitution. Then he sewed chaos into their ranks. Blinking into groups of Warriors and taking several them off guard. Hacking at their throats, stabbing at their eyes, and piercing their hearts. He couldn¡¯t comprehend his own actions. It felt like his body was moving of its own accord, but every time he spilled his enemies blood it exhilarated him, filling him with the desire to continue. Every time he killed, he felt his control slip. It felt like he was losing himself. Every death at his hands made him less aware of what was happening around him, but at the same time, far more savage. The sound around him dimmed until he could only hear the sound of his blades cutting into his enemies and their screams before death. Guards continued to pour in, drawn to the flares that were going off around him, but after dealing with the specialized archers, they were all so weak. He savagely butchered them one by one, unhindered by the injuries he was receiving or the arrow wound in his shoulder. That was when Sir Andres arrived with the guards he had led earlier. Even in his lost state of mind, he recognized the Sir Andres. Sir Andres was the person that he wanted to kill the most. Dante immediately charged toward him, then used all of his remaining mana to Blink around Sir Andres, plunging his weapon savagely toward the knight wherever he appeared. It was completely ineffective, the blades just bounced off of Sir Andres¡¯ skin. Even when he tried for the Knight¡¯s eyes, Sir Andres would just move his head slightly. His irritation at not being able to kill was maddening. Sir Andres snorted at his attempt, then glanced over at Mia¡¯s body and frowned. ¡°Years of careful training wasted.¡± Sir Andres reached out toward Dante¡¯s neck lazily, and Dante couldn¡¯t react at all. All of the muscles on his body were taught from the strain of resisting, but he couldn¡¯t move an inch. Sir Andres grabbed his neck and pulled him over, then let out a sigh. ¡°All of this could have been avoided if Layla would have taken my advice, but the girl is strong headed and¡­ stupid.¡± He reached inside of a pocket and pulled out a small black orb. ¡°Hopefully she¡¯ll grow out of it.¡± He pushed the orb onto Dante¡¯s collarbone, and as soon as it touched his skin, the orb melted and merged into his body. He couldn¡¯t pull away, he could only watch as the melted orb spread around on his skin and around his neck like a loose collar. Then it flashed purple, and he felt¡­ weak. And his thoughts were far slower, yet he was far more clearheaded, completely losing all of his earlier bloodlust. ¡°See? It¡¯s not that bad. It could have been this easy, but you had to do all of this.¡± Sir Andres gestured to the bodies on the ground next to him, then pulled out the purple orb he had seen earlier. ¡°I really don¡¯t like to do this, but I¡¯m afraid that if I let this behavior go unpunished, you will develop bad habits that will hinder your future training.¡± Sir Andres held out the violet orb from earlier, and it began to glow. The pain began to shoot through his body in waves. It was unlike anything he had ever felt. The pain was so intense that his brain couldn¡¯t even process it. He resisted for a moment, but then started to scream. It was involuntary, he didn¡¯t want to show the weakness, but he couldn¡¯t stop himself from crying out. Dante clawed at his throat, trying to tear the collar out of it, but he was too weak to even break his skin. It felt like an eternity before he finally passed out. Chapter 38 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 38 The first thing he was aware of upon coming into consciousness was a hand slapping his face. ¡°Wake up.¡± Dante opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was Layla¡¯s blue eyes staring back at him. He recoiled from her touch. It was hard to believe that he found someone who was so beautiful to be so repulsive. He inspected himself. They hadn¡¯t even chained him up. Of course they did. He laughed grimly and inspected the black wraith collar that covered his skin. Thankfully, he had been completely healed, and his clothing hadn¡¯t been touched. Even his combatant¡¯s glove was still on, which was both a relief and confusing. He looked around, taking stock of the room he was in. It wasn¡¯t a prison cell like he thought it would be, but more of a storage cellar; dark, damp, and made from solid stone walls. Layla saw him looking around the room and frowned. ¡°Yes, quite unfortunate, but things didn¡¯t go as planned¡­¡± She cleared her throat smiled. ¡°Anyways, I just came to check in on you. How are you doing?¡± How am I doing? He was having a hard time processing her words, and it wasn¡¯t just his momentary anger. It felt like his thinking was slower. And every emotion drained away as soon as it came, he was still sad about Mia¡¯s death andangry, but something was holding those things back. Regardless, he saw no benefit in angering Layla and going through that tortuous pain again. ¡°As well as could be expected.¡± He did his best to keep the sarcasm out of his voice, but some of it seeped through. Layla¡¯s grin seemed to be far more genuine now. ¡°Excellent! If you continue on with this attitude, I¡¯m sure you will assimilate rather quickly.¡± She paused to check his reaction, and he tried his best to remain expressionless. ¡°That actually brings me to the reason for this little meeting.¡± Layla gestured to the room around them as if making a joke. ¡°We have run into some complications. Usually, when someone is collared they are immediately sent off for training in one of our camps, but your trip will be delayed¡­ hopefully for only a few days.¡± ¡°I came to give you a little bit of motivation before you leave.¡± Layla flicked back her golden hair. ¡°The training will be¡­challenging,but if you do well, your life won¡¯t be all that bad. In fact, it will be far better than it was before you received your Classifications.¡± She paused for his reaction, and if she was looking for surprise, he wasn¡¯t going to give it to her. How could her knowledge of his life Alazel surprise him after the fight with Greggory? ¡°As I was saying, all you need to do is prove that you are loyal, orobedient,and you will be awarded certain freedoms.¡± Layla tapped on his collar. ¡°I¡¯m sure you would like for me to turn off the restraint. Although I can¡¯t say that I¡¯ve tried it, I¡¯m sure having your connection to the Goddess cut off is frustrating.¡± No wonder his thinking had seemed foggier, his Wisdom and Intelligence must have been lowered to what they were before he got his Status. On a whim, he tried to manipulate the world essence in the room around him. Nothing happened. Layla saw the realization dawn on him. ¡°Our most trusted¡­servantsget the best assignments, and can even go entire assignments with their collar¡¯s restraint deactivated.¡± Was that what Mia was, just a ¡®trusted¡¯ slave? His anger flared, then disappeared. Up until the moment he saw Sir Andres standing over her with a wraith leash, he had thought that she was just an agent of House Calman. Any other possibility didn¡¯t make sense, she was so¡­ normal. Andpowerful. Layla patted him on the head like one would do with a pet. Then she slid down his combatant¡¯s glove so his Classification symbols could be seen. ¡°I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t let me down.¡± After saying those words, Layla walked over to the stone wall and fed world essence into it. A hidden enchantment lit up, and a portion of the stone wall opened to reveal a dark tunnel. Without being able to manipulate world essence, he wouldn¡¯t be able to leave I¡¯m not sure how, but I¡¯m going to kill her.
Edward Ailloss ¡°What do they mean they can¡¯t find him?¡± Edward paced by the relay enchantment, reading each report from the academy as it came through. Varik stood next to the relay, trying to appease him as he sent and received messages. ¡°My lord, he slipped away before Sam could reach him after his fight in the arena, and now the academy is in complete chaos. And after he was¡­captured, the Ramotars made their move.¡±Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Edward slammed his fist into the wall, sending cracks through the marble. ¡°The bastards actually collared him.¡± He breathed heavily for a moment. ¡°What about a wraith key, have you acquired one?¡± ¡°No, my lord. I can¡¯t find a key close enough to the academy for it to be useful, if we sent one it would take at least a week, even by raptor.¡± Edward let out a curse, then increased his pacing. ¡°What about Damian? I¡¯m sure that he had a key prepared for his niece, he won¡¯t be needing it anymore.¡± Varik cleared his throat. ¡°Are you sure you want me to askDamianfor the key that he was going to use on his recently passed away family member? You know how emotional he is.¡± Edward scratched the back of his head, slightly embarrassed. ¡°Probably not a great idea¡­ Spread your agents around the academy¡¯s perimeter, no one leaves unless we know about it.¡± He paused in thought. ¡°How is the fight progressing?¡± ¡°It¡¯s reached a stalemate. House Ramotar started off with a huge advantage. They had agents embedded as Instructors, so as soon as Mia Went was killed, they turned on the Calmans and wreaked havoc through their ranks. Things progressed well after, at least until Sir Andres from House Calman joined the fight. He was able to bring the fighting to a complete halt. House Ramotar didn¡¯t think to send a twice specialized combatant that could counter his defensive skills.¡± Varik scratched his chin in thought. ¡°If we have Sam kill Sir Andres, Damian may be willing to give us their key.¡± Edward paced for a moment. ¡°No¡­ the Calmans are too deeply entrenched in the Outer Edge region, it would be best if we remained hidden, at least until we locate Dante. Until that happens, keep searching. The Calmans must have a few keys at the academy.¡± It was fortunate that he had been near the information relay when the news came in, it allowed him to act immediately. No matter what, he would get Dante out.
The enchanted door activated, causing Dante to perk up. He had already been stuck in the room for four days, and aside from his visit from Layla, the door was only opened four times. Once a day to empty his chamber pot and give him food. But this was the second time that day. Dante held his breath, it was likely time for him to start his ¡®training¡¯. The door swung open, revealing¡­ no one. The only thing he could see was the dark tunnel behind it. There was an echoing laugh. ¡°You¡¯ve certainly seen better days.¡± He knew that voice. ¡°Kayla?¡± That¡¯s when he saw it, a shadow sliding across the room. Only stopping when it was right in front of him. Then, without any warning, Kayla appeared in its place. It was hard to believe, but itwasher. Same brown hair and eyes, slim figure, and she had that mischievous smile on her face. Since when has she been able to do that? Kayla leaned down with her hands behind her back until their eyes were only a few inches apart, then inspected him. ¡°As if you weren¡¯t pale enough before they locked you in this room for four days.¡± He looked back at her emotionlessly. ¡°Are you here to take me to my ¡®training¡¯?¡± Kayla snorted. ¡°I¡¯m not quite sure what you mean, but no. I¡¯m here to help you.¡± Dante let out a large breath. He didn¡¯t trust Kayla, at all. He wasn¡¯t sure if he would trust a noble ever again, but if she was telling him the truth it meant that it wasn¡¯t time for his ¡®training¡¯. Kayla saw his relief and apparently misread the reason for it. ¡°What are friends for? Of course I¡¯ll help you, I¡¯ll just need a bit of help in return.¡± His eyebrow quirked up. ¡°Oh?¡± Kayla held up one hand in mock surrender, while the other was still behind her back. ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand. It¡¯s something that we both want, but only you can do.¡± She pulled her other hand from behind her back. ¡°This is a wraith key, it¡¯s exceedingly rareandexpensive. Created by artificers as a one-time use item to remove wraith collars.¡± The orb was bright blue, similar to the color world essence, but was etched with layers of runes. His eyes lit up, now taking Kayla far more seriously. Seeing her desired reaction, Kayla¡¯s smile broadened. ¡°Since we are such great friends, I would give it to you for free if it were anything else. But to get this wraith key I had to steal it from Jack Daynard, then I had to sneak in here.¡± She gestured to the room around them. ¡°Which was far more challenging than you think.¡± ¡°What do you want?¡± He wasn¡¯t in much of a position to bargain, but wanted to be free of the wraith collar by any means possible. Kayla¡¯s smile hardened. ¡°WhatIwant is for every member of House Calman to be tortured slowly in front of me.¡± She took a deep breath to calm herself. ¡°But I¡¯ll settle for their deaths instead.¡± Dante snorted. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I can help you with that, I couldn¡¯t even touch one of their knights.¡± He pointed to his wraith collar. Kayla rolled her eyes. ¡°Obviously, I didn¡¯t mean now. I¡¯m taking a bet on your potential.¡± She pointed at his combatant¡¯s glove. His eyes narrowed, that answered one question. She saw his glare and held her hands out in surrender. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I drugged you.¡± Dante¡¯s eye twitched, he had been mentally beating himself for getting drunk at the party, but Kayla had drugged him¡­ and now he was supposed to make a deal with her? Kayla cleared her throat. ¡°I won¡¯t ask you to sign a mana contract, I just want a promise. Promise me that you will wipe out House Calman when you have the strength, and I¡¯ll set you free.¡± She held the key up. Dante hesitated, trying to think of how he was being tricked. It was possible that this was an elaborate setup by the Calmans to test him, but what else could they do to him after they enslaved him? Maybe hurt him with the collar, but there would be plenty of that in his future. Kayla¡¯s expression hardened. ¡°Theydeserveto die. Think about what they did to Mia, they did the same thing to my family.¡± Hearing Mia¡¯s name sent a spike of raw emotions through him, but as soon as he felt them, the feelings quickly diffused until they were gone. She was right though, the Calmans deserved to die. ¡°If you set me free, I¡¯ll kill the Calmans... when I¡¯m stronger.¡± Kayla¡¯s smile came back. ¡°That¡¯s great! I¡¯ll leave this key with you then.¡± She tossed the orb to him, and he inspected it. He was ready to use it, but she cut him off. ¡°Don¡¯t use it yet. Your emotions are going to be a bit¡­ strong after being bottled up for a few days.¡± Kayla walked to the door. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to yourself. Two specialized Warriors are watching the other end of the tunnel, so be careful.¡± Without another word, Kayla disappeared from his sight, replaced by a shadow that walked through the door and closed it by activating the enchantment. I should have asked her how to use this key. Dante stared at the orb, then after contemplating it, he pressed it against his wraith collar.
Kayla Stavins Kayla lazily walked through the tunnel, bypassing the two guards with her Stealth skill. That went better than I thought it would. Her months of effort had finally paid off, and all it had taken was two hidden shots with a bow. It was hard not to take the chance while Mia¡¯s restraint was activated. She was easy pickings for an arrow led by mana manipulation. She did feel bad about killing Mia, but it was worth it. Just the thought of Dante tearing apart the Calmans because of her brought a smile to her face. She may not have the power to crush House Calman herself, but they would still fall by her hand. Discord server I created a discord so i can give people announcements, like if im going to miss a daily release or if you just want to know when a new chapter is coming out. Will also keep add edit notes as they happen... and you can ask questions in there https://discord.gg/fjjcrSU The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Chapter 39 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 39 As soon as the key touched his wraith collar, all of the emotions that had been repressed slammed back into him. Kayla had warned him it would happen, but nothing could have prepared him for the raw emotions that seemed to penetrate his soul. First came the sadness. It smashed into his chest like a sledgehammer, forcing him to take massive gulping breaths. Uncontrollable tears welled up in his eyes, almost instantly spilling to the floor with a constant patter. He fell to his knees, bracing himself against the floor with his hands as he wept. Then came the regret. It was painful, stabbing directly through his self-worth. The feeling of doing everything wrong, of being incompetent, of hurting the first person he cared about. The feeling of killing Mia. After that came the loneliness. Being alone had never bothered him, but he didn¡¯t know what it was like to have someone care about him, tocareabout someone else. Losing that felt like a part of himself that he didn¡¯t know he had was suddenly ripped away from him. He collapsed to the floor, unable or unwilling to hold himself up any longer. Then came the disgust. Disgust in himself. Disgust in his actions. Disgust in the way he allowed others to walk all over him. Disgust in the way heallowedMia to be killed. His jaw clenched, and his fist tightened. And finally came the anger. Anger at himself. Anger for not being better. Anger for beingusedbyeveryone.Anger for his Naivety. His anger changed. Refocusing itself on others, blaming them for killing Mia. The archers, Sir Andres, the Calmans. His blood boiled, filling him with the uncontrollable desire to kill¡­ This feeling¡­ is wrong¡­ His desire to spill blood became overwhelming, seizing control of his other emotions, consuming them and fueling itself. No longer did he just want to kill, he desired to conquer. To prove that he was supreme and indomitable. What is this¡­ He could feel himself losing control. Even his anger was beginning to be consumed by the bloodlust. He felt¡­ pride. Unwilling to surrender to anyone, and satisfaction at the thought of losing himself to the perverse bloodlust. It felt¡­ foreign. Without hesitating, he began to purge it from his body. Forcing it back, then expelling it from his other emotions. As the bloodlust was expelled, the raw emotions came back in full force. Completely wreaking havoc on his mentality, but at the same time he was gaining back control. He lost the pride, the will to do battle, and the desire to kill. Replacing it was weakness, but it was his weakness, not something that was being forced upon him. Dante could see the bloodlust being channeled out, secreting from every pore on his body, and coalescing around him. It was a barely visible red mist, but he could feel the baleful aura coming from within it. It swirled around him for a moment, then drifted towards his combatant¡¯s glove and was absorbed by it. His mind felt so¡­ clear. He was still overwhelmed by his emotions, but his anger no longer burned hot. It was far colder, and more calculating. It took him a full hour to regain focus after that. His emotions were still ravaging him, but as more time passed, those feelings slowly dulled. He let out a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself. I will never go through that again. He needed to change. He had been na?ve to allow others to manipulate him, he had thought that there would be mutual gain, but that was flawed logic. He had been far too trusting. Allowing others to completely take advantage of him¡­ like Kayla. She had drugged him but now expected him to fully comply with her wishes. That was something that he needed to think over carefully. On one hand, he didn¡¯t trust Kayla at all. On the other¡­ shehadhelped him remove the wraith collar. Dante glanced down at the wraith key. The once a blue orb was now completely black, as if it had just absorbed the wraith collar from his body and integrated it into itself. He looked toward his glove. It had always just seemed like an item to be used, but that didn¡¯t seem to be the case. It had invaded his mind, twisting his thoughts,controlledhim. How many of my decisions did the glove influence? He thought back to all of his actions that were done through anger. Killing the guards after Mia died for one, then with Bridget in the arena, it was possible that it even impacted his fight with the wolves. Did it help me kill Greggory too?If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Killing Greggory felt good, but there was no bloodlust, no anger. But was it even anger that fueled the bloodlust? His anger always seemed to trigger it, but it didn¡¯t make sense that his anger would be consumed like his other emotions if it was the cause of the bloodlust. Was it truly my anger, or something else entirely¡­? Even more importantly was the question of whether or not the glove was safe to wear. Losing his mind to bloodlust was an excellent way of getting himself killed. But could he really afford not to use a magical artifact? He still was unsure of its uses, but it was an invaluable item¡­ For the time being, it would be best to find a replacement glove until he could control it. Dante took a deep breath, calming himself. He could reconsider his glove later. Before that, he needed to escape the academy. He opened the Classification tab in his Status. World Essence waiting to be assigned: 7,296 Chronomancer lvl 3/10 (0/300 world essence) Blademancer lvl 4/10 (0/400 world essence) Blader lvl 5/10 (0/500 world essence) Revenant lvl 5/10 (0/500 world essence) Recent World Essence gain: 3,322 World Essence for killing: Warrior x 23 3,235 World Essence for killing: Ranger x 7 246 World Essence for killing: Mage x 2 148 World Essence for killing: Pyromancer 128 World Essence gained for killing: Hedge Wizard 125 World Essence gained for killing: Gladiator The amount of world essence was completely staggering¡­ and unexpected. The four Rangers and two Warriors that had carried Mia must have been specialized. Otherwise, the numbers didn¡¯t add up. He was unsure if he killed the last Warrior, but knew he killed the other five. The other Rangers and Warriors he had killed were likely the regular guards that he attacked before Sir Andres captured him. The rest of them were far more interesting though. Bridget and the other magic Classification noble both gave him world essence for each Classification. The new revelation made killing nobles far more rewarding¡­ It was something that he didn¡¯t notice when he killed Greggory and only got a measly 49 world essence from his Warrior Classification, likely because the Hunter Classification was a non-combat Classification. He wasted no time leveling his Chronomancer Classification, his Blink skill would be the difference between life and death when escaping the academy; so the increased Intelligence, Wisdom, and Blink range would all be beneficial. Chronomancer has reached level 10 Attributes have been added: +7 Intelligence +7 Wisdom Skill description for Blink has been updated He reexamined his Classifications tab, eager to try and specialize his Classification now that it had reached its max level. World Essence waiting to be assigned: 3,096 Chronomancer lvl 10/10 (0/10,000 world essence) Blademancer lvl 4/10 (0/400 world essence) Blader lvl 5/10 (0/500 world essence) Revenant lvl 5/10 (0/500 world essence) It was hard to hold back his groan, but he managed. 10,000 world essence to specialize seemed¡­ excessive. It made sense though, if it were just 1,000 like he predicted, there would be far more specialized combatants. He was tempted to hold off on assigning the remaining world essence and save it to specialize his Chronomancer Classification, but the world essence wouldn¡¯t do him any good if he were dead. Blademancer has reached level 7 Attributes have been added: +3 Dexterity +3 Wisdom Skill description for Create Blade has been updated Blader has reached level 7 Attributes have been added: +2 Dexterity +2 Agility Skill description for Blade Dancer has been updated Revenant has reached level 6 Attributes have been added: +1 Strength +1 Constitution Skill description for Rebirth of the Revenant has been updated Finally done, he checked his Classifications tab one more time. World Essence waiting to be assigned: 96 Chronomancer lvl 10/10 (0/10,000 world essence) Blademancer lvl 7/10 (0/700 world essence) Blader lvl 7/10 (0/700 world essence) Revenant lvl 6/10 (0/600 world essence) All in all, not bad. He needed to make specializing Chronomancer a priority in the future. Dante pulled up his skills tab, checking to see Blinks new range. Blink: Manipulate the power of space to teleport yourself or an object a short distance away. Cost: 30 Mana Range: up to 15 Feet Create Blade: Create permanent bladed weapon of choice with an average quality. Cost: up to 55 Mana Blade Dancer (Passive): Increase Dexterity by 13% Increase Agility by 13% Increase ability with bladed weapons +3 Rebirth of the Revenant (Passive): Heal up to 13% of max HP every time you kill. 15 feet wasn¡¯t a massive jump from the original 10, but it should still make a large difference. Dante opened his Attribute tab to check his Mana regeneration rate. Name: Dante HP: 160/160 Mana: 240/240 (+2.9/sec) Strength: 16 Constitution: 16 Dexterity: 25 (+3.25) Agility: 16 (+2.08) Intelligence: 24 Wisdom: 29 Charisma: 9 So, his limit at the moment was one Blink in a little over ten seconds, not bad at all. His Strength had finally caught up to his Constitution, which he was happy with. It was also nice to see that Instructor Misa¡¯s lessons had paid off, the Charisma boost was sorely needed. Dante stood and walked to the stone door. After four days of captivity, he was finally ready to make his escape.
Sam Everard Sam tapped his foot on the floor, more than irritated at Varik¡¯s orders. He and his men had been forced to stay hidden since they arrived at the academy. Now awarwas taking place, and they didn¡¯t even know why. There was a knock at the door, and one of his men opened it. ¡°Sir Sam, I have brought news.¡± Sam turned toward Varik¡¯s agent. ¡°New orders?¡± He was more than ready to finally leave the confines of the small manor they were staying at within the academy. The agent shook his head. ¡°No, my lord, I have just come to report that Dante is still safe within Housing District 1, and has been unaffected by any fighting thus far.¡± Sam didn¡¯t hide his groan. Since they had arrived at the academy, the agents seemed to have left them in the dark. ¡°Very well, keep me updated if anything changes.¡± Chapter 40 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 40 Dante fed world essence into the enchanted door. Thankfully, no hidden mechanism or enchantment needed to be activated first. They clearly didn¡¯t think that it was possible for him to remove the wraith collar. The enchanted door slid open, and he walked out into the dark tunnel, closing it behind him. They only checked in on him once per day, which should be more than enough time to escape so long as he didn¡¯t grab their attention. Which left him with one significant problem. Kayla had said that two specialized guards were watching the end of the tunnel. Even if he could kill both of them, and he had serious doubts in his ability to do so, it would only alert the guards that would replace them at the end of their watch. Dante began to walk slowly down the dark tunnel. He had plenty of experience when it came to sneaking past others, but despite his effort, every footstep seemed to send a small echo through the narrow passageway. He took a deep breath. It was likely that his future depended on whether or not he was successful in sneaking past the guards, and his nerves were still on edge from the lingering emotions. The tunnel itself was far longer than he thought it would be. He walked for almost twenty minutes before he saw a flickering light and heard voices. He had to stop himself from breathing out in relief, talkative and relaxed guards were far better than alert guards. Dante moved forward warily, waiting for the guards to start speaking before taking a step, using their voices to cover over the sound of his footsteps. The first voice Dante heard was gruff, but to his joy, it sounded bored. ¡°What¡¯s Marisa going to do now that the inns burnt down?¡± There was a sigh. ¡°Who knows? We may need to transfer back to the Outer region. There have already been too many casualties since the fighting broke out. Even if the inn were rebuilt, the academy would still be a ghost town.¡± There was a grunt of agreement. ¡°Trent and a few of the others are thinking of going to Kenguard and forming a dungeon party. With our ability, we can each have a small territory and title within the year.¡± ¡°As if the Calmans will let us go under contract.¡± The voice was filled with doubt. The gruff voice became much quieter. ¡°Trent got approval, we just need to keep a steady shipment of combatants coming in.¡± ¡°As if I¡¯d sign up for that. I only have a year left on my contract, and I¡¯ve already got enough things keeping me up at night. The very day it expires I¡¯m running away with Marisa to settle down somewhere quiet.¡± There was a mirthless laugh coming from the gruff voice. ¡°Quiet until the campaign starts that is. Once that happens we¡¯re all fucked.¡± Dante cursed internally, the gruff voice killed the conversation, and now his progress was halted only a few feet away from the end of the tunnel. Now that he was closer he could make out that the flickering light was coming from a small lantern sitting on a round wooden table. The room that it was sitting in seemed to have been carved out of the tunnel itself; directly across the room from where his current tunnel broke off, a new one began. He couldn¡¯t see the guards, but both of the voices came from the left side of the room, so he had a good idea of where they were at the very least. His Blink awareness just barely reached the other tunnel, already showing the merit of leveling his Chronomancer Classification. He sat there for a few minutes, waiting for their conversation to continue so that they would be distracted if something went wrong, but they seemed content to sit in silence. He would have waited for a more opportune moment, but the more time he spent in the tunnel, the greater the chance that something could go wrong. Dante Blinked, reappearing across the room. Just barely making it inside the shadow of the opposite tunnel. He paused, holding his breath and waiting for the reaction of the guards, but they remained silent. Carefully letting out a breath, he continued down the tunnel, taking even more care than he had earlier to stop his footsteps from echoing. Only a short distance ahead, Dante came to a staircase that led to a wooden trap door. He was hesitant about opening a door when he didn¡¯t know what was behind it, but his options were somewhat limited, and if Kayla had made it through unnoticed there was likely no one close to it. Dante opened the trap door slowly, trying not to alert the guards he had just passed, while at the same time wary of any potential dangers that might meet him from the other side. After lifting the trap door a few inches, just enough for him to peer through, he examined what he could see of the room beyond. It seemed to be a regular bedroom, and more importantly, empty. His eye was immediately drawn to the shut door, letting out a breath of relief, Dante stepped into the room. So far, his escape was going far better than he had expected. The security seemed¡­ lacking. It must have been a result of the fighting that the guards were discussing. Dante walked to the wardrobe, looking for something that could hide his hair. He wasn¡¯t surprised to find it empty upon opening it but was still disappointed. That done, he looked around the room, evaluating his options. There were no windows, which unfortunately made the door his only way out. He created a small dagger, preparing himself for any situation.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Then, with no other options, Dante walked toward the door and slowly opened it. First, just a crack, waiting for a response from the other side. When everything remained silent, he opened it wider, then looked out. The hallway was completely empty and had doors evenly spaced on each side. It appeared to be a regular inn, which was great news for him. It was far better than escaping from a secured garrison. The hallway only led in one direction, the other was a dead end, and Dante cursed himself for not knowing how to pick locks. He could easily make lockpicks with his Create Blade skill, and access to the other rooms in the inn might have provided him with clothes to hide with, as well as the possibility of a window to escape from. Forcing a door open may have been a possibility, but he couldn¡¯t think of a way to do it without drawing attention to himself. Again, with no other options, he moved down the hallway to what he inferred was the inn¡¯s main room. Dante had only taken a few steps when he heard a muffled explosion and felt the floor below him rattle, it surprised him so thoroughly that he dropped to the floor, fearing an attack. Dante looked around for a moment, collecting himself. The explosion seemed to be far away, but it was still too surprising for his frayed nerves. What in the hell was that? Wasting no more time, he hurried towards the main room, stopping just before it to examine it. The room was empty. The fight that the guards had been talking about must have been far more extensive than he had thought. He wasn¡¯t going to complain though, it was likely making his escape possible. Upon walking into the main room, Dante immediately headed to the kitchen. He knew for a fact that it would have a door for the cook to dump scraps or trash out of. Every inn in Alazel had, and it was a significant help in keeping him fed. Stepping out of the inn, he Blinked twice to get to the roof. The inn was around two stories in height, giving him a clear view of the academy so that he could orient himself and plan his route of escape. The sight he took in was staggering. The academy looked nothing like it had only days ago. There were onlyfivearenas still standing, and even they were in poor condition. The others were either completely burnt to the ground or nothing but rubble. It seemed like no area of the academy was unmarred. Giant swaths of land were completely black from being burnt down or were in the process of burning down. Even half of the buildings that managed to escape the fires seemed to have been physically destroyed. He could even hear the shouts of fighting combatants coming from the leisure district. Who could have been strong enough to do this? No one in the Outer Edge region would be stupid enough to attack House Calman, so it had to be an enemy from the Outer region. But the real question was why they would do so. It was possible that there was a strategic reason for it, but it was unlikely considering the academy was in the Outer Edge region. Not only that, but the nobles should have been coming together to survive the coming campaign¡­ unless the Calmans still hadn¡¯t told anyone. He dismissed the thoughts, unsure of why they mattered. He was done with nobles. Their reasons for doing things were their own. He would be long gone before the campaign started, so what they did or didn¡¯t do no longer concerned him. Unless I kill the Calmans... He was still unsure of what to do about House Calman. Kayla had asked him to killallof them. Even if they killed Miaandcollared him, it seemed excessive to kill all of them. Still, he would dosomethingabout them. He could worry about exactly what, or how much he owed Kayla, later. Dante looked around the academy. The area that the trading companywaslocated in was utterly destroyed, so that was off the table. Most of the academy was covered by the smoke of the fires and made looking for carts close to impossible, so he turned his eyes outward. The crater that the academy was located in allowed him to see almost all of the wagons that would enter or leave the academy. From what he could see, there was an active stream of wagons and carriages leaving the academy and moving in the direction of where he had been told Kenguard was. Likely students in the process of evacuating. Almost directly across from the academy, where the leisure district was located, there was another line of wagons. Those seemed to be bringing in a constant supply of armed combatants and supplies, then going back out empty-handed. The choice wasn¡¯t a hard one to make. Dante began to make his way toward the area where the other students were evacuating. He moved along the rooftops, keeping an eye out for guards as he traversed through the academy. There were a surprising number of corpses on the ground, scattered randomly throughout the streets. He glanced at them, looking at their clothing and size. He was almost halfway to the evacuation site when he came to a sudden stop. Finally. He looked around, checking his surroundings. The academy was like a ghost town. He saw a few people running around while jumping over the rooftops, but it was mainly empty. After making sure the street was clear, Dante Blinked down, quickly disrobed the corpse, then Blinked back up. He examined the cloak and couldn¡¯t help but be satisfied. It was a large black traveling cloak. Usually used for protecting the wearer from the rain, but in this case, it would hide his appearance almost perfectly. There were a few bloodstains on it, but in the current situation, it shouldn¡¯t be seen asthatstrange. Dante put on the cloak, completely hiding his features.
Alexander Calman Alexander made his way nervously through the wooden trapdoor, still unsure if he would go through with it or not. He took a deep breath, calming his nerves. He made his way down the tunnel, running into the two guards who were standing watch. ¡°My lord, what brings you here?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t speak. I order each of you to eat one of these.¡± Alexander steeled himself and held out his hand, two sleeping tablets sat on his palm. They had clear hesitation on their faces, but this was one of the few times he found the mana contracts his family forced others into to be useful. Unable to resist his order, the two of them walked forward and each ate one. ¡°Sit down, and don¡¯t move.¡± The guards made their way to the wooden table in the middle of the room and sat in the chairs next to it. The sleeping tablets would knock them out and erase any memory of meeting him. Alexander let out a sigh, they would likely get in severe trouble for what he was going to do, but there was no other way. Alexander made his way down the tunnel, emotions conflicted. This was far worse than just bringing delicious food or other pleasantries to collared slaves. He could feel his hands shaking, and he clenched them until his knuckles turned white. I have to do this¡­ If I hadn¡¯t asked that he come with us, none of this would have happened. He had just been looking for someone to spend the rest of his journey to the academy with. After spending so much time with Layla, he would have latched on to anyone. But after learning about his Blader Classification, he had immediately regretted his choice. He knew Layla wouldn¡¯t allow him to slip out of her grasp. And now this¡­ Alexander shuddered. She¡¯s becoming just like mother. He came up to the stone door, and filled with a newfound resolution, he began to activate the enchantment. The door started to open, and he took the wraith key from his pocket. I¡¯m finally going to go against Layla¡¯s orders, against my family¡¯s wishes. He was afraid, but at the same time, he felt free. Far freer than he had in years. The door finally slid open. The room was empty. Chapter 41 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 41 Finally making it to the area of the academy where the other students were evacuating; Dante found an isolated alley, Blinked down, then walked out to join the crowded streets. Everyone completely ignored him, which he was more than thankful for. They all seemed to be too busy dealing with their own problems. It was rare to find someone who wasn¡¯t lugging around baggage, loading a cart, or just leaving the academy. There were so many students and workers that were continuously leaving the academy that they formed a rough line leading all the way toward Kenguard. He watched them for a moment, checking to see if any guards were checking the evacuating students, but there didn¡¯t seem to be any. After making sure things seemed safe, Dante hopped into the line of students exiting the academy. Their pace was slow, everyone moved at an easy walk to match the burdened wagons that were being pulled by their small horses. He had to resist the urge to move faster, if he were still in range of the Calmans trackers when they found out that he escaped, things would go badly. Tracker Classifications were rare, Lord Tibbott was one of the few lords in the region around Alazel who had one as a retainer, but he had no doubt that the Calmans had multiple. They were likely even more proficient in tracking than Lord Tibbott¡¯s, who could track a scent for miles. It made hiding somewhere nearby like Kenguard, which would have been stupid anyway, impossible. Not only that, but it also made every minute count. The time that he spent slowly walking with the crowd could be the time that he needed to get outside of the trackers¡¯ range. Dante released a sigh, there was nothing that he could do. Drawing attention to himself by running through the crowd would only end poorly. So, walking at the slow pace of the crowd, he made his way toward Kenguard.
¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, they can¡¯t hurt us anymore.¡± Dante tried not to release a groan. That was the fifth time that she had told him not to be afraid. He didn¡¯t know what could have possessed her to walk beside a fully cloaked figure that she didn¡¯t know. Who raised her? Eliza¡¯s brown eyes were lit up with excitement. ¡°Greg said that the fighting can¡¯t hurt us if we leave the academy.¡± Dante glanced over at Eliza as she walked by his side. After he joined the line of refugees fleeing the academy, he had somehow attracted the attention of the small girl next to him. ¡°Why don¡¯t you go walk with Greg?¡± Eliza stopped walking, and he could see her eyes turn red and begin to water. ¡°Greg died. Someone accidentally killed him when the fighting started¡± Dammit. Why would you even bring him up then? The last thing he wanted was to make a small girl, who couldn¡¯t be more than eight years old, cry. But he had no idea how to stop her. ¡°Uh, why don¡¯t you go walk with your parents?¡± Surprisingly it worked. Eliza immediately stopped tearing up, and her expression turned stubborn. She even began to pout. ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡±A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. He couldn¡¯t believe her sudden change in attitude, but he wasn¡¯t going to complain about it. ¡°Won''t they get worried that you''re lost if he doesn¡¯t find you?¡± Eliza crossed her arms over her chest. ¡°I didn¡¯t getlost. I ran away.¡± Dante stopped walking. ¡°What?¡± Eliza said each wordslowly,as if talking to an imbecile. ¡°I ran away.¡± ¡°Why would you run away¡­ and where are your parents?¡± They had now traveled for several hours, and most of the groups had already stopped to set up camp. If her parents were still at the academy¡­ that would be bad. She gave him a proud smile. ¡°They are still at the academy.¡± Of course they are¡­ Dante cleared his throat. ¡°And why would you run away?¡± Eliza stuck her tongue out at him. ¡°Our house was gone, and I couldn¡¯t find them.¡± He paused mid-step. ¡°Come again?¡± Eliza shrugged. ¡°Mommy sent me out to get water from the well, and when I came back our house was smashed and I couldn¡¯t find her or daddy.¡± He looked at Eliza for a moment, wondering if she understood the possible implications behind her house being crushed. It was even possible that she knew that something had happened to her parents and was just blocking it out. It would make sense, her personality seemed to erratic and bipolar for someone so young. Dante let out a sigh, he wanted to help, but he was about to break away from the group he had been traveling next to. It had taken hours, but they had finally made it past the vast farmlands and were now traversing a road surrounded by a dense forest. He didn¡¯t have time to deal with Eliza. ¡°Listen to me.¡± Dante glanced over to make sure he had the focus of her limited attention span. ¡°As soon as the groups begin to move in the morning, you need to find a group to travel with. It isn¡¯t safe to wander around alone.¡± At his words, Eliza just rolled her eyes. ¡°Obviously, why do you think I¡¯m walking next to you. Without me, who knows what kind of trouble you would have already gotten into?¡± Dante rubbed his eyes in irritation. ¡°Alright, fair point. I need to go relieve myself, wait here for me.¡± He felt terrible for it, but he wasn¡¯t in a position to help Eliza. So with no other options, he decided that the sooner he left her the better. He made his way into the dense underbrush of the forest. Then, as soon as he got out of sight, he used his Agility to move as quickly as possible while utilizing his Dexterity to narrowly avoid any obstacle in his path. He had made it out of the academy cleanly, now he just needed to get outside of the trackers¡¯ range.
Tabitha Tolli Tabitha looked over the groups of people that were finally settling down for the night and sighed. She was more than ready to have this debacle over with. Her father seemed to be losing his mind. He had been sending her away from the academy to perform every mundane task he could find, like escorting the refugees to Kenguard. A rider came into view, riding hard as he came towards them. It was Edwin, who had just come back from scouting ahead. ¡°There seems to be a problem, my lady.¡± Tabitha looked at him expressionlessly. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you take care of it?¡± Edwin looked embarrassed. ¡°I was going to¡­ but it seemed improper given the girls mood.¡± Tabitha¡¯s eyebrow arched. ¡°Oh? Lead on then.¡± She found the girl only a few minutes up the road, a short ride away, and exactly where Edwin had said he found her. She could see why Edwin had been reluctant to deal with the situation, the girl was ferociously crying while she paced back and forth along the forest edge. Tabitha cleared her throat. ¡°What are you doing?¡± When the girl saw Tabitha, she sobbed even harder. ¡°He¡¯s dead.¡± The girl ran up to her, latching onto her clothing and crying into it. She was taken aback by the sudden contact. The girl didn¡¯t seem to have any understanding of what was socially acceptable. The small girl was completely ruining the expensive coat with her tears, but despite the lack of interest in her expression, she had a rather soft spot for children. Seeing her distressed, she felt a need to do something. Tabitha sighed. ¡°Who¡¯s dead?¡± ¡°I was walking with-¡± The girl paused to heave large mouthfuls of breath between her sobs. ¡°now he¡¯s dead, just like Greg¡± She continued to breathe heavily, unable to get the words out while she cried. Tabitha put her hands on the girl¡¯s shoulders, trying to calm her. ¡°Calm down, or I can¡¯t do anything to help.¡± The girl was still breathing heavily, but she took a moment to collect herself so she could speak. ¡°He went into the woods and said he would be right back, but he didn¡¯t-¡± She couldn¡¯t finish the sentence, and instead started to sob into Tabitha¡¯s clothing again as she pointed into the woods. Tabitha let out another sigh, then turned toward Edwin. ¡°Can you track him.¡± Edwin went to examine the underbrush of the forest, then turned back to her and nodded. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get this over with.¡± Chapter 42 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 42 Layla Calman Sir Andres gave her a formal bow as he walked into her office without even knocking. ¡°We have aminorissue, my lady.¡± ¡°What are you doing in here? You should be holding those bastards off.¡± She was not in the mood, the damned headmaster had been even more of a nuisance than usual. He seemed to be losing his mind over the destruction of the academy. Sir Andres glared at her. ¡°For the most part, the enemy has already fallen back. Something thatweshould have done as soon as the fight broke out in this Goddess forsaken academy.¡± Layla glared back at him, the two of them had more than one heated discussion about the best way to handle House Ramotar¡¯s combatants. They had been at a significant disadvantage when the fighting broke out, so Sir Andres had practically demanded they retreat. Holding off the enemy meant massive casualties, but she hadn¡¯t budged. They couldn¡¯t afford to show House Ramotar any weakness. Sir Andres cleared his throat. ¡°Anyways, the news I brought may be of greater interest to you. The guards that were watching Dante¡¯s cell were found sleeping when their shift ended, and his cell itself was empty when it was checked.¡± ¡°What?¡± Layla shot out of her seat. ¡°Did you send the trackers?¡± Sir Andres nodded. ¡°They already picked up the scent, and I sent a more than capable group of combatants. They should have him back by morning.¡± His words did nothing to reassure her, Layla¡¯s breathing was becoming even less controlled. ¡°Listen to me.Dowhateverit takes to capture him. I already told mother about him, and she¡¯sveryinterested.¡± If Dante weren''t found, it would be bad,verybad. Sir Andres eyebrows rose, and his expression was much more severe than before. ¡°I will send out a few more groups¡­ We don¡¯t have many combatants left, but if we abandon the academy we can cast a large net.¡± Layla nodded. Abandoning the academy wasn¡¯t much of a setback. The academy had stopped being a pillar House Calman¡¯s fighting force long ago, it was why they were so lax about deaths in the arena. ¡°See it done, and have the guards that were caught sleeping executed. We need to set an example.¡± She drummed her fingers for a moment. ¡°Do we know who helped him?¡± Sir Andres shook his head. ¡°No, they were the only guards on duty in that area of the academy. We have been stretched too thin.¡± Layla rubbed the bridge of her nose. ¡°Very well. Just get Dante back here while the situation is still salvageable.¡± ¡°Yes, my lady.¡± Sir Andres bowed, then turned to leave. Dante paused, straining his senses outward. He had kept a reasonable pace for almost four hours, making him think that he would be well out of a Tracker Classification¡¯s range. But just for a moment, he thought he heard a noise. It was faint, but there was a constant sound of something crashing over branches in the distance. Damn. It was possible that some creature was the source of the noise¡­ but it was more than likely a pursuer. He looked around for a suitable tree, then Blinked up and waited to see who was following him. He briefly considered Blinking to other trees and attempting to escape unnoticed, but if he were being hunted by a Tracker Classification, he would need to kill the Tracker before he could make an escape. The crashing noise got louder, and far more constant as it came closer. It seemed like there was a large group headed his way. Dante stood in the crook of the tree, leaning against it in an attempt to hide as much of himself as possible. A single rider mounted on a horse burst out from the underbrush, his eyes were scanning the ground, and he came to a halt in the exact spot that he had Blinked from. Only a few seconds later, another five riders broke into view and stopped next to him. ¡°Edwin, why did you stop?¡± He had to hold his curse in. Sitting on one of the horses, with a bored expression on her face, was Tabitha. The headmaster¡¯s daughter had left quite an impression on him when she dealt with Jack, and he still hadn¡¯t removed the lingering fear he had of her from his heart. The single rider dismounted, then examined the floor carefully. ¡°The tracks stopped here¡­ but it makes no sense, it¡¯s like he just vanished.¡± The scout¡¯s eyes drifted upward, and Dante quickly pressed himself against the tree. ¡°There isn¡¯t even a depression in his tracks, so he couldn¡¯t have jumped anywhere¡­ but that¡¯s the only thing that seems possible.¡±A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Dante let out a breath of relief. They didn¡¯t have a real Tracker Classification so he could leave them without worrying about being followed, and he didn¡¯t need to kill any of them to do so. Still, he decided to wait until they were gone before he left. One Blink into a creaky branch would still give him away. Tabitha didn¡¯t budge. ¡°See if you can pick up a new set of tracks.¡± The man who had been examining the floor moved around the general area, paying close attention to the ground. Then he turned back to Tabitha and shook his head. ¡°What a waste of time.¡± Tabitha took in a large breath of irritation. ¡°Mount up, we don¡¯t have the time to follow him without a set of tracks.¡± The single rider began to walk back to his horse, a somewhat embarrassed expression on his face. ¡°Sorry Tabitha, I¡¯m not sure what happened to the tracks.¡± As soon as he finished talking the man was suddenly knocked off of his feet. Everyone stared in shock as he flew through the air, unsure of what had happened. But when he finally came to a stop on the ground, the arrow that pierced his throat became fully visible. Curses rang out from the mounted group, and they all drew their blades or bows. Tabitha even moved in front, sword out in preparation to block any attack from where the arrow had come from. A single voice penetrated through the tense atmosphere. ¡°Hold your fire, you moron.¡± Shit. He knew that voice. Knew it well, and there was no way he was going to get away from Archie, even if he used Blink. He had never reached the extent of his instructor¡¯s abilities, but one thing was for sure; he wasn¡¯t just a standard Warrior Classification. Archie cleared his throat loudly in the distance. ¡°Sorry about that, one of these idiots was a bit too eager.¡± Then Archie¡¯s burly form stepped into view, both of his hands were held over his head and a smile was on his face. His smile disappeared as he turned to look back. ¡°Get out here and apologize you imbecile.¡± There was no reaction from whoever he was shouting at, and Archie smiled. ¡°If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll kill you.¡± Archie hasn¡¯t changed a bit. The most surprising thing about the situation was Tabitha. She immediately calmed and sheathed her sword when she saw Archie. A second man stepped into the small clearing with his hands raised. He was middle-aged with a bow slung over his shoulder. ¡°I don¡¯t know why we¡¯re apologizing. We know that someone helped him escape, and Alric said that our target was just ahead. It¡¯s obvious they are traitors.¡± Three more people stepped into view. Two had their hands raised and weapons sheathed, but the third was unarmed and didn¡¯t bother raising his hands. The archer next to Archie turned back to the unarmed man. ¡°Is he here or not?¡± The man hesitated for a moment, then spoke. ¡°It smells like he¡¯s right next to us.¡± He chose to act, he had no chance of escape as long as a Tracker held his scent. Dante Blinked behind the Tracker with a freshly created blade, then slashed deeply into his throat before Blinking back up to the tree. He didn¡¯t waste any time and immediately Blinked away, intent on losing the group of combatants sent to capture him. The combatants acted far faster than he could have anticipated. Two arrows slammed into the tree he had just Blinked to, only narrowly missing him by a fraction of a second as he Blinked away. Dante glanced back at the arrows in horror, the combined force of their impact was almost enough to split the tree in two, and the sheer speed that the archers chased after him made his escape seem like a lost cause. Not giving up, he began to jump between trees in an attempt to preserve his mana. It was something that shouldn¡¯t have been challenging given his Agility and Dexterity, but the arrows raining down on him hindered his movement and forced him to Blink when he couldn¡¯t avoid their path. His mana regeneration wasn¡¯t enough to keep up with the number of times he Blinked. The chase hadn¡¯t even lasted more than five minutes before he began to run out of mana, only having enough left to use Blink one more time. After running out, he would need to wait a full ten seconds in between uses. Cursing, Dante glanced back, checking the distance between him and his pursuers. If anything, the two archers were gaining on him. Even with Blink, his speed couldn¡¯t compare to their Agility. Archie followed close behind, on the back of a horse that he assumed belonged to the dead man from earlier, and just behind him was Tabitha and the other four members of her group. Apparently, they decided to join the chase as well. His train of thought froze as realization hit him. One of them was missing. It was possible that the last combatant was just slow, but that was just useless optimism. An arrow shot directly at him while he was in midair, forcing him to Blink out of the way and draining his remaining mana. Without any warning, something smashed into his side as soon as he used Blink, tackling him to the ground while he was completely defenseless and out of mana. Dante glanced up at the man who was on top of him, it was the last member of the group. How did they know I was almost out of mana? The man on top of him quickly subdued him despite the struggle he put up, but it didn¡¯t matter. He only needed to wait a few seconds, and he would be able to escape by Blinking out of his grasp. The two archers were almost immediately standing over them, each of them had arrows knocked in case he tried to flee. The one who killed Tabitha¡¯s scout had a smirk on his face, and he walked up and kicked Dante hard in the side, causing him to grunt in pain. ¡°You¡¯ll pay for killing Alric. If we¡¯re going to get punished for losing a Tracker, I¡¯ll be sure to take it out on you first.¡± At least one of the archers seemed distracted, and he had enough mana left to Blink, but decided to wait until he could use the skill twice and make it back to the trees. ¡°Well, you did far better than I expected.¡± Archie had a broad grin on his face as he came to a stop and hopped down from his horse. Dante glanced up at him. Archie seemed to be taking the entire situation rather well. Tabitha and the rest of her group came to a stop close behind Archie. And although the other riders seemed excited to be a part of the chase, Tabitha remained expressionless. Dante checked his mana, just enough for two Blinks. He focused on an area away from the group and tried to Blink. Nothing happened. Archie saw the change in his expression. ¡°Unpleasant isn¡¯t it?¡± He pointed to the man who was holding him down. ¡°Sid here has a Forsaker Classification. The bastards focus on blocking their opponents Mana and disrupting it so that skills can¡¯t be used.¡± The archer who had kicked him glared at Archie. ¡°Stop chit chatting, this isn¡¯t some happy reunion.¡± Archie turned to the archer, the smile on his face only growing wider. ¡°But that¡¯sexactlywhat this is.¡± Before anyone could react, Archie drew his blade and stepped forward in one motion. Effortlessly slicing the man¡¯s head off with speed that was far greater than what he showed earlier. Chapter 43 Dante¡¯s Immortality - Chapter 43 Archie didn¡¯t stop at just killing the first archer, he immediately charged the second. The archer reacted immediately and shot at Archie¡¯s charging form. He must have used a skill because the force of the arrow was absolutely staggering, it had the same strength as when they had almost split the tree earlier. Archie seemed to take the attack in stride, his sword filled with world essenceinstantlyand obliterated the arrow as he sliced it out of the air. The instructor had clearly been holding back on him, his world essence control was the best he had seen so far, aside from possibly Mia. ¡°Stop!¡± The man who was restraining him seemed to be horrified, but he hadn¡¯t broken contact yet and was still blocking his skills. ¡°Archie, have you lost your mind?¡± The archer leaped backward, away from Archie¡¯s nearing form, and he would have continued watching if not for the scream that he heard coming from Tabitha¡¯s group. Dante glanced over to see Tabitha laying waste to the third member of her group, two others were at her feet while the fourth was screaming as he turned to run away. Tabitha glanced over at her fleeing group member, thenthrewher sword. Its flight path was unnatural, curving in the air slightly and taking the man straight through his back and toppling him from his horse. To his right, Dante heard a gurgled groan and turned to see Archie finish off the archer. ¡°What in the hell is going on?¡± The Forsaker Classification that was holding him down was becoming hysterical as he watched both Archie and Tabitha finish their slaughter, but he still didn¡¯t let go. His hold seemed to change though, now using Dante as more of a shield than anything else. He had to admit, the man had a valid question. Tabitha released a sigh as she rubbed her eyes. ¡°What a mess.¡± Archie began to walk back toward him. ¡°They were bonded by a contract anyways, probably the best death they could have gotten.¡± The man holding him began to yank him backward as he tried to escape Archie. ¡°Stay away from me.¡± Tabitha rolled her eyes. ¡°Obviously, but how in the hell am I supposed to explain this? Father is already under suspicion for what he did to help out during the fighting.¡± Archie brushed her comment off. ¡°I¡¯m sure it will be fine.¡± Then he flashed the man holding Dante a smile. ¡°How about we make a deal? You let go of him, and I let you live.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The man said it quickly. ¡°Okay, here you go. You can have him. Just let me go.¡± He felt himself being shoved away. And I thought that I could be na?ve¡­ He didn¡¯t wait for the combatant to reconsider, and Blinked away. ¡°Wait,wait,wait-¡± Those were the last words that he heard before the sound of flesh being sliced reached his ears. Dante turned back to Archie, keeping Tabitha in his vision. Neither of them were making a move for him. He wasn¡¯t sure what was going on, but he assumed that he would get an explanation since he wasn¡¯t being attacked. He was more than willing to hear them out. Any time that they wasted talking would only give him more mana, and a better chance to escape. Archie knelt by the man he just killed, cleaning off his sword on the dead man¡¯s clothing. ¡°I suggest that you return to the academy before more problems arise.¡± He was about to say something, thinking that Archie was talking to him, but Tabitha nodded as she got back on top of her horse and rode off into the dense forest. Archie stood up and flashed him a smile. ¡°Killing the Tracker first was good thinking, but in the future, it may be a good idea to keep track of all the opposing combatants.¡± He pointed to the Forsaker Classification¡¯s corpse. That was a rather large mistake¡­ Dante gave a reluctant nod of agreement. Archie barked out a short laugh. ¡°And to think that some people think my method of teaching is too extreme. If you don¡¯t make a mistake yourself, you won¡¯t take the lesson seriously.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Archie saw Dante¡¯s lack of enthusiasm and cleared his throat. ¡°Anyways, I¡¯m not here to play teacher today.¡± He paused to dig through a pocket in his jacket. ¡°Today, I come bearing gifts.¡± Archie said it magnanimously, a smile still plastered on his face. He pulled out a black sack that seemed to be too large to fit in the pocket, then tossed it to him. Dante made no move to catch the sack, and it fell to the floor. Archie had a fake look of mortification on his face. ¡°How rude. The person who sent it will be so sad when he hears you didn¡¯t take the bag.¡± Archie paused as if his words alone would be enough for him to change his mind. Then, when he didn¡¯t move, he continued. ¡°Your chances of actually making it out of the Calmans reach will be far better with what¡¯s in the sack.¡± That caught his attention, but he wasn¡¯t willing to lose one collar to gain another. Dante walked backward, then motioned to the bag. ¡°You open it first.¡± Archie shrugged and walked toward the bag. ¡°Can¡¯t fault you for actually thinking.¡± He couldn¡¯t hold in his curiosity. ¡°Who sent the bag¡­ and why did they send it?¡± Archie picked up the sack and began to untie the knot in the drawstrings. ¡°Well, that¡¯s a tricky question. You don¡¯t know him, but you know his¡­ goddaughter, Mia.¡± Dante¡¯s eyebrows rose. ¡°As to why he would send it to you, there are two reasons.¡± Archie opened the bag, then showed him that it wasn¡¯t rigged and tossed it to him. Dante caught it this time, unwilling to let go. ¡°The first reason is that he has a vested interest in your escape from the Calmans. As for the second¡­ well, just consider it as a type of thank you.¡± Those words sent a feeling of pain stabbing through him. Mia¡¯s godfather wanted to thankhim? ¡°Thank me forwhat?¡± He tried to restrain himself, but the words were filled with his bitter emotions. Archie seemed to have missed the implication in his tone and just shrugged. ¡°Who knows? Ever since the Calmans brought you to the academy, you have been watched. By everyone.¡± He looked like he was going to say something else on the topic, but stopped himself. ¡°But if I were you I would stop asking questions, my group isn¡¯t going to be the only one with a Tracker hunting you.¡± That was a valid point, Dante reached into the black bag and pulled out its contents. It had one jar, two vials, and one pair of well-made enchanted boots. Archie pointed at the smaller vial. ¡°You may want to use that immediately, it will hide your scent from a tracker, just apply one drop to your skin every day.¡± Dante examined it. Something that was so useful needed to be used immediately. He tossed the vial to Archie, who caught it. ¡°You use it first.¡± Archie shrugged. ¡°It would be something of a waste, but whatever.¡± Archie unstoppered the vial and tilted it until a single drop fell into his hand. Then he replaced the stopper and tossed it back. There was still a chance that it was poisoned, and Archie just had the antidote, but it was a risk that he needed to take if other Trackers were really on their way. Dante unstoppered the vial and let a drop fall to his hand, just like Archie had. There was no change in the way he felt physically, but the peace of mind the small drop of liquid offered already made him feel far better. Archie nodded, then pointed to the jar. ¡°That is alchemic hair dye, it should last you quite a while and be a big help.¡± Then he pointed at the last vial. ¡°And that little beauty is priceless, it was created specifically for you. One drop into each of your eyes will turn them black for a few months, there should be enough to last you quite a while¡­¡± How powerful is Mia¡¯s godfather to be able to just give me these things¡­ and if he is this powerful, why was she collared? Then Archie pointed to the enchanted boots. ¡°Those will allow you to slip by detection enchantments unnoticed.¡± Archie cleared his throat. ¡°They might beparticularlyuseful if you want to make it out of anoble¡¯sreach.¡± Dante¡¯s eyes widened. He examined the boots, checking the enchantment over carefully. His knowledge of enchantments was still somewhat limited, but he could tell that it focused its energy downward, away from the user. Making them safe to test at the very least. If Archie was hinting at what he thought, it might be possible that the boots would help him get over the wasteland border¡­ Archie saw the expression on his face and smiled in satisfaction. ¡°The Calmans aren¡¯t the only house with a long reach and greedy fingers, although they are by far the worst¡­¡± He cleared his throat. ¡°Still, I would suggest you make haste in your escape.¡± Archie looked at him for confirmation, and he nodded. ¡°Good, I¡¯m glad you understand.¡± Archie¡¯s face lit up with a broad smile. ¡°You¡¯re still young, there is no need to rush into any¡­ unfortunate circumstances.¡± After saying that, Archie waved goodbye to him and turned and disappeared into the forest. That¡¯s it? Dante let out a breath of relief. He felt like he was going to go insane, even Archie wasn¡¯t who he thought he was¡­ but he wasn¡¯t going to complain about it given the circumstances. He was now alone in the clearing, holding the bag that Archie had given him like a lifeline. Each item was priceless. He couldn¡¯t understand how someone related to Mia could have been able to afford them and just give them out as a gift. Was he the one who attacked the academy? It was possible, but unlikely. If someone that powerful was truly related to Mia, they would have helped her when she was still alive. But Tabitha did say that her father helped in the fighting¡­ and she and Archie were clearly on the same side. Mia¡¯s godfather was someone he needed to look into in the future. Regardless of his intentions, he owed him a huge debt. He glanced over at the corpses of the men that Archie and Tabitha killed, he had some misgivings about feeding his glove any more blood, but he decided that he couldn¡¯t miss the opportunity to get new Classifications. Dante walked over to the corpse of the Forsaker. He inserted his hand into the corpse and then examined it. It took a moment, but the Forsaker Classification came into existence on the glove. He checked the two archer¡¯s Classifications, but they were just Ranger Classifications, which he already had. He then checked the ones Tabitha killed, but they were all Warriors. Then, almost as an afterthought, Dante reached down and took one of the corpses combatant''s glove. Immediately wearing it, and placing his glove in the black sack. That done, Dante threw the bag over his shoulder and Blinked into the treetops. The vial that hid his scent from Trackers and the boots seemed somewhat safe, but he wasn¡¯t going to use the hair or eye dye until he tested them. He set off, jumping and Blinking through the treetops to keep his tracks off of the forest floor. Chapter 44 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 44 The man leading the group hacked angrily at the underbrush. ¡°This isbullshit! Sven, get your shit together. This wassupposedto be my day off.¡± ¡°Shut your mouth Eric, all of the Trackers are having problems picking up a scent.¡± Eric slashed into the underbrush even more vigorously, taking his anger out on the vegetation. ¡°Almost a week of non-stop fighting, and for what? Where are the spoils? Where are the women? All I get for my services is a day of walking aimlessly through this Goddess damned forest with a Tracker who can¡¯t track for shit.¡± He waited for a response, but no one said anything. ¡°Are you bastards even listening?¡± Eric spun around to berate the others, but he came face to face with Dante instead. Eric jumped backward in shock, but it was too late. Dante slid his world essence filled blade between the man¡¯s ribs, piercing directly into his heart. The entire party dealt with, Dante began rummaging through their pockets. He found plenty of useless items, mostly weapons and a small number of coins, but he couldn¡¯t find what he actually needed; a map. Letting out a sigh, Dante pocketed the coins, checked the corpses for new Classifications, which they didn¡¯t have, then Blinked back to the treetops. It had been almost a day since he left Archie, and the entire forest had been infested by combatants. He wasn¡¯t sure how they all could have gotten ahead of him but assumed that he must have somehow gotten turned around, which is why he needed a map so badly. To his relief, the liquid that Archie had given himhadhidden him from the Tracker Classifications. It actually made the Trackers a detriment to the groups that they were leading. His pursuers were just a ragtag group of injured combatants, some even missing limbs, and they completely dropped their guard. They assumed that the Trackers weren¡¯t picking up his scent because he was outside of their range, which meant that he could easily hide in plain sight. All he had to do was Blink behind them one by one, silently killing each combatant without alerting the ones who were walking ahead. So far, he had already killed four groups, but none of them had a single map. Dante continued to move through the forest¡¯s trees, eyes scanning the ground for movement. Only an hour of hopping through the treetops later, he found yet another group of six, and thankfully the Tracker was leading. It meant he could finally enact his plan, which he had been holding off on thus far in favor of stealth. He stood over them for a moment, watching their tendencies carefully, but none of them seemed concerned with their surroundings. None of their weapons were even drawn, they just grumbled as they followed the Tracker forward. Dante let out a sigh, his pursuers were pathetic. Not only did they not even pay attention to their surroundings, but he was pretty sure that he hadn¡¯t even run into a single specialized combatant after dealing with Archie¡¯s group the previous day. If he didn¡¯t know better, he would assume that the Calmans were just trying to feed him world essence. He waited until the last group member passed the tree he was standing on, then Blinked down and slid his blade into the combatant¡¯s heart while holding his hand over the dying man¡¯s mouth to keep him quiet. After waiting the few brief seconds for him to lose consciousness, he gently lowered the corpse to the ground. The entire process only lasted around ten seconds, and as soon as the corpse touched the ground, he moved to the next person in line. Slowly working his way forward until he finally came to the Tracker. For the Tracker, his plans were different altogether. He knew for a fact that they weren¡¯t combat Classifications, their blood didn¡¯t make a Tracker Classification symbol appear on his glove, so it made them by far the safest to capture alive. No skills meant no surprises. Dante Blinked to the Tracker¡¯s side, choosing to first disarm him of the sword he was cutting through the underbrush with. He slapped down on the tracker¡¯s wrist, holding back slightly to stop himself from breaking a bone and causing him to scream. As soon as the weapon was out of the Tracker¡¯s hand, he used the Tracker¡¯s moment of hesitation to stuff a rag into his mouth. After that, Dante jumped him, using his superior strength to quickly subdue the Tracker; first wrapping the makeshift rope around his mouth to hold the rag in place, then tying the Tracker¡¯s hands behind his back, and finally tying his feet to the knot that held his hands. That done, Dante stepped back to admire his work. The Tracker was struggling on the ground, but to his surprise, the makeshift rope actually held. The makeshift rope, and the rag for that matter, were both acquired by cutting up the clothing of the men he had killed earlier that day. He thought that it would be sufficient to hold a rag in someone¡¯s mouth, effectively gagging them, but he didn¡¯t think that the rope would actually be strong enough to subdue someone. Trackers were weaker than he thought.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Dante pulled out the black sack as he walked over to the Tracker, taking out the hair and eye dye as the Tracker screamed into his gag. The Tracker became terrified as soon as he pulled out the jar and vial. ¡°Relax, this probably won¡¯t hurt.¡± The Tracker stopped screaming, but his terrified expression didn¡¯t change. They both knew how their encounter would end, there was no way of getting around it. Dante opened the jar of hair dye, it was the first time he had looked at the hair dye, and it seemed to just be a thick black goop. Scooping out a tiny amount with his finger, he applied it to the Tracker¡¯s hair. The effect was instantaneous, as soon as it touched the hair, the black coloring seemed to shoot into the Tracker¡¯s roots, then spread slowly out to the rest of his hair. Alchemy is amazing¡­ and something I need to learn about in the future. Judging by the Trackers calmed expression, the hair dye hadn¡¯t harmed him. Next, Dante opened up the vial. The stopper itself was connected to a small tube inside of the vial, and he found that by pressing gently on the rubbery section of the stopper, he could make the liquid come out one drop at a time. Dante walked up to the Tracker and tried to hold the man¡¯s eye open with his fingers. The Tracker resisted his touch, moving out of the way and trying to stop him from gaining access to his eye. Dante let out a sigh, he couldn¡¯t blame the Tracker for resisting. He would do the same. ¡°Hold still, or I''ll scoop out your other eye.¡± The threat didn¡¯t sit well with him, but he needed to test the eye drops before he used them himself. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t hurt.¡± The Tracker gave a slight nod, then allowed Dante to hold open his eyelids. He held the eyelids open with one hand, then with the other, he carefully let one drop fall. As soon as the clear liquid hit the Trackers eye, the man recoiled, blinking his eye several times in an attempt to get rid of the foreign substance. For a moment, Dante thought he was in pain. But then the Tracker looked up at him, one eye brown, the other black. The change was incredible, the eye looked completely natural. It wasn¡¯t pitch black, the iris looked exactly like it should, making the dye even more useful than he had been expecting. Dante sat with the Tracker in silence, waiting almost an hour for any kind of side effects to kick in¡­ or poisons, but none came. After verifying that the substances were somewhat safe, Dante cleared his throat. ¡°I¡¯m going to ungag you. Don¡¯t scream, or I will kill you. Nod if you understand.¡± The Tracker nodded eagerly, more than happy to have the gag removed. He moved forward, untying the rope that was around the man¡¯s mouth, then pulling out the gag. The Tracker turned sideways and spit vigorously. ¡°For the love of the Goddess, where did you get that? It tastes like a decaying corpse¡­¡± The Tracker¡¯s words seemed to remind him of what situation he was in, and his mood visibly dimmed. Clearing his throat yet again to get the man¡¯s attention, Dante began to question him. ¡°How did your group get so deep into the forest so quickly?¡± ¡°Last night we were put on a massive caravan that was pulled by tamed creatures and dropped off on the forest¡¯s edge.¡± The Tracker¡¯s lack of hesitation in answering surprised him. But the news that the Tracker had given him, if true, was good. It meant that he hadn¡¯t gotten turned around like he had thought. ¡°How many other groups were sent out?¡± The tracker hesitated for a moment in thought. ¡°Uhh, I think they sent out a few hundred of us. So, somewhere between fifty to one hundred groups.¡± Dante rubbed his eyes. Between fifty and one hundred? He had been expecting something around that range, but it would have been nice to get a more precise number. ¡°Where are the nearest towns?¡± ¡°Other than Kenguard, Ironstead and Grimspeak are the nearest settlements. Ironstead is around thirty miles in that direction.¡± The man nodded in the general direction that Dante had been heading in. ¡°And Grimspeak is about fifty in that direction.¡± This time the Tracker nodded slightly off to the side, in a completely different direction. The information was invaluable, not as good as a map would have been, but far better than nothing. ¡°Which would be safer for me to pass through?¡± He needed to stop for supplies, and it was unlikely that he would be caught if he was disguised his hair and eyes. ¡°Grimspeak would be safer, not only is it more populated, but House Calman doesn¡¯t control the territory. They still have strong influence there though.¡± He thought it over, a higher population density meant that it would be easier to hide. And even if the Tracker was deliberately leading him to a trap, it shouldn¡¯t be an issue if he was careful and disguised. ¡°Last question, do you feel anything strange from the two things I gave you earlier.¡± The Tracker shook his head, then began trying to hobble away. ¡°No, I feel fine.¡± He began to struggle against his ropes even harder, becoming far more frantic while his eyes started watering. ¡°I-I¡¯ve been helpful.Please, don¡¯t kill me. I can¡¯t die here, I have to take care of my family.¡± Dante let out a sigh. Something about killing this Tracker, who was completely restrained and struggling for his life, felt so inhumane. It wasn¡¯t a feeling that killing the other combatants had brought him. But he couldn¡¯t let him live, even if the Tracker didn¡¯t tell anyone, he had already seen the hair and eye dye. Materializing a small blade in his hand, Dante lunged at the Tracker. ¡°My wife is pregnant!¡± Dante paused, his knife only an inch away from the Tracker¡¯s throat. Tears were streaking down the Tracker¡¯s cheeks. ¡°Please!Without me, there will be no one to take care of her or the baby.¡± He began sobbing. ¡°I swear, I won¡¯t ever speak of this again.Please¡­¡± The last please was barely a whisper. The dagger hovered over the man¡¯s throat. Is my life really worth more than his? He has a family. People who rely on him. While I have¡­ no one. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Closing his eyes, Dante slid the dagger into the Tracker¡¯s throat. He sat in silence, eyes closed and unwilling to move. I may not have those things yet, but one day¡­ Gritting his teeth Dante reached forward with his knife and scooped out the black eye. He then put it in the sack so he could dispose of it later, someone finding it would only give him away. It took him a moment to recover, but eventually, Dante stood up from the Tracker¡¯s body. Opening up the hair dye, he rubbed a small amount into his hair. Then opening up the vial, he placed one drop in each eye. He destroying the dirtied weapon, then created a new blade. This one wide and flat, and he looked at his reflection in it. It was hard to believe, but he looked¡­ normal. Handsome even. His facial features were no longer overshadowed by his ghoulish hair and eyes. It was hard to believe that he was the person staring back at himself in his reflection. Dante destroyed the weapon and set off toward Grimspeak. Chapter 45 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 45 The guard at the front gate stopped their wagon. ¡°What¡¯s your business in Grimspeak old man?¡± Clint gestured toward Dante¡¯s sleeping form. ¡°The boy and I are here to sell some of our crops.¡± Then Clint dug into a pouch and pulled out his documents, handing them to the other guard. Dante felt a gentle poke from the shaft of the guard¡¯s spear. ¡°Wake up, we¡¯ve got orders to check everyone¡¯s eyes.¡± Dante opened his eyes, ¡®waking up¡¯ from his fake slumber, but still maintained a drowsy look on his face. Clint spoke up to his side. ¡°Sorry bout that, the boy¡¯s awful tired. Our cart had a broken axle, and these old bones were too weary to help fix it.¡± The guard just nodded, then went to the back of their cart to check what was under the canvas. ¡°Hey Frank, we¡¯ve finally got a new batch of carrots.¡± The other guard, who was blocking their path to the lift, had a broad smile cover his face. ¡°Old man, are you selling these in the square today?¡± Clint nodded. ¡°Yes sir, that¡¯s the plan.¡± Frank stepped to the side, gesturing them through hurriedly. ¡°Thank the Goddess.¡± Frank turned to the side, where two messenger boys were standing at the ready. ¡°One of you go tell Betsy at Peaks Tavern that there is a new shipment of carrots, and that they will be sold at the square.¡± One of the boys shot off to the stairway, full of excitement. Clint didn¡¯t hesitate to usher the horses forward, tipping his hat to the guards in gratitude as they stepped onto the lift. The chains that connected to the lift pulled taught, and they were slowly raised towards the city. When he had first seen Grimspeak, he had a few misgivings to say the least. The Tracker had said that it was a settlement, but it wasn¡¯t. It was a fortress. There were only two ways to get to the peak of the mountain that it was located on. The first, and easiest, was the narrow staircase that ran up the side of the mountain. The other was the lift that they were currently riding on, but either way, one needed the proper documentation to gain access to the city. Thankfully, the farmer that had given him the information had told him the easiest way for an outsider to gain access to Grimspeak; paying someone else to let you in. Clint was one such person. For a small fee, only 5 coppers, he would sneak someone inside of the fortress. He actually thought that the price was somewhat cheap, but apparently, the practice was so common that no one would pay more than 5 coppers to be snuck in. Dante turned to Clint. ¡°Why were they so excited that you had carrots?¡± Carrots were a typical food in Alazel, so he didn¡¯t see what all the commotion was about. Now that they had made it past the guards, Clint had a lopsided grin back on his face. ¡°They crammed too many people on this damned mountain. So many in fact, that the surrounding farms wouldn¡¯t be able to support them if they grew anything other than grain.¡± He gestured to the carrots in the back with his thumb. ¡°Vegetables, especially ones that are a natural sweetener like carrots, are a delicacy in Grimspeak.¡± Clint cackled in delight. ¡°These carrots are worth over ten times what I paid for them. I¡¯m practically scamming these morons.¡± That made sense to him, the less there was of something, the greater its value usually was. Dante looked over the side of the lift and instantly regretted it. They were already over a hundred feet in the air. ¡°How does a mountain like this even exist?¡± The question was rhetorical, but it didn¡¯t stop Clint from piping up beside him. ¡°The current ruling family of Grimspeak is one of Geomancer Classifications, they built it up from nothing.¡± He had been wondering why the mountain had such steep cliffs, it looked like a massive cylinder jutting out of the earth, but built by humans? That didn¡¯t seem conceivable. ¡°How did they build something so large?¡± If the lord of Grimspeak could make amountain, he should be in the Outer region at the very least. ¡°Well, they started almost two hundred years ago. When the last campaign ended, the lord at the time recruited all of the Geomancers in the surrounding land with the Barricade skill. They came together to build this monstrosity.¡± Clint gestured at the mountain that they were scaling. ¡°A bunch of fools if you ask me. There won¡¯t even be another campaign. The last one resulted in massive losses, even for those in the inner regions.¡± Dante¡¯s eyebrow rose. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Clint shuffled in his seat, then began to whisper. ¡°You didn¡¯t hear it from me. But from what I¡¯ve heard, the church was the cause of the last campaign. Their failure made them lose a massive amount of power.¡± Clint¡¯s hesitation, even on the isolated lift, made more than a little sense given what he had just said. If a priest heard those words, he would be crucified for blasphemy. Speaking against the church in any way was a death sentence, and a painful one.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Still, if the church really was the cause of the last campaign, it raised several questions for the upcoming one. For now, changing the conversation away from one that was potentially dangerous would be best. Even Clint could be secretly working for the church, and just looking for blasphemers. ¡°What¡¯s the easiest way to leave Grimspeak?¡± Clint shrugged. ¡°Just walk out the front gate, they don¡¯t check people leaving, just entering¡­¡± He paused for a moment before continuing. ¡°The security has been a bit tighter than it usually is though.¡± The lift slowed to a halt as they reached the top of the mountain. Clint whipped his horses, leading them forward through the dense crowd. There was only one word that could describe Grimspeak; cluttered. He couldn¡¯t even see the streets through the dense crowd, there was absolutely no space between each person. The buildings themselves were just as bad, they were just square shacks made of stone, stacked on top of each other to maximize space, likely made with the Barricade skill that Clint had mentioned. They all had carvings on the door, probably distinguishing them from each other, and the only real difference he could find was their relative size. Still, there seemed to be order in the chaos. The crowds had a stream of people walking through the middle of the road at a speed that was faster than a standard walk, only slowing as they moved out to the edges of the street. Clint seemed intent on trampling the crowd, charging forward with his large cart, and he almost yanked on the horses¡¯ reigns to stop him. But amazingly, as soon as the cart neared the crowd they just barely squeezed out of the way. ¡°Alright, I got you here safely didn¡¯t I? Pay up.¡± Clint turned to him and held out his hand, not paying attention to the crowd he was plowing through. Dante dug through the black sack for the 5 coppers. ¡°Do you know where I can buy a map?¡± Clint kept his hand out. ¡°Head straight down this road, then take a right at the fifth intersection. The cartographer¡¯s shop is third on the left.¡± He handed the 5 coppers to Clint. ¡°Thanks for the ride.¡± Clint gave him a nod, and Dante hopped out of the cart, losing himself in the dense crowd. The feeling of being in the crowd was¡­ euphoric. He had never felt so invisible in his life. The combination of his features being hidden and the anonymity that the crowd gave him made him feel like he was just another person. Dante reached up to his hair and examined it. I suppose I am just another person now¡­ with one of the most influential noble houses hunting me. Letting out a sigh, Dante began walking in the direction of the cartographer¡¯s shop, keeping a hand on the sack with all of his valuables inside. He had barely moved into the street when he felt a hand in his pockets, his hand snapped out instinctively at a speed that took the thief by surprise. Then, holding the perpetrator in a vice grip, he yanked them out of the thick crowd. To his surprise, It was a small girl who couldn¡¯t have been more than ten. Dirty, covered in rags, and emaciated. She stared at him with a look of mortification, she was terrified of whathewould do to her. The sight of the girl, who seemed so similar to who he was only months ago, caused him to immediately release his grip and recoil in surprise. It allowed the girl slip out and dart off to find safety in the anonymity of the dense crowd. Dante stood in silence for a moment, staring off in the direction that she fled to, then took a large breath and set off into the crowd. Keeping a hand on his valuables proved to be a wise decision. Just moving to the center of the street he felt three more hands delve inside of his pockets, but he made no move to stop them. He had no intention of reliving the experience he just had with the small girl. Something about it made his chest tighten. As soon as he reached the middle of the street, Dante merged into the high-speed crowd and took off down the road. Waiting until he made it to the fifth intersection, then cutting back through the crowd and taking a right. After that, he just clung to the slow-moving right side until he came to the third building, which lookedexactlylike all the others. The inside was nothing special either, the walls were covered entirely in large stone cabinets that were broken up into tiny compartments and stuffed with different scrolls. The center of the room had a single middle-aged man sitting at a large stone table. The middle-aged man didn¡¯t even look up at Dante when he walked inside of the room, just kept his focus on the map that he was drawing. Deciding it would be best not to upset the man he would soon be buying something from, he waited silently. Around ten minutes later the cartographer placed down his quill and looked up at Dante with a somewhat kind expression. ¡°How may I help you?¡± ¡°I need a large map. Preferably one that covers the entirety of the noble territory.¡± The cartographer¡¯s eyebrows rose. ¡°Such a map would be quite large¡­ and expensive. Are you sure you can afford it?¡± Dante hesitated, he wasn¡¯t sure whether or not he would be able to afford it. All of his leftover money from the academy was left in his room in Housing District 1 with the rest of his belongings, and he had barely managed to scrounge together a few silvers from the bodies he looted in the forest. ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m not sure if I can afford it, and it would be best if it¡¯s a smaller map if possible.¡± His answer was likely a bit too honest, but the man didn¡¯tseemlike he would try to take advantage of him. ¡°Asmallmap that covers the entirety of the noble territory?¡± This time only one eyebrow was raised, and it seemed like the cartographer was questioning his sanity. The cartographer¡¯s tone gave him pause. Although he knew it was large, he wasn¡¯t sure how big the noble territory was. It had never been something of importance to him when he was staying inside of Alazel, and after leaving, he had basically been wandering aimlessly. ¡°It doesn¡¯t need to be too precise, just a rough sketch of the Outer Edge territory and the location of the major cities¡­ including Grimspeak for reference of course.¡± The cartographer rubbed the stubble on his chin. ¡°Ah, much more reasonable.¡± The man had a smile on his face, it seemed he enjoyed the mention of a new task. ¡°I¡¯ll do it for 2 silvers.¡± Dante nodded in agreement. That was around half of his current money, but the map was his primary purpose in coming to Grimspeak. The cartographer stood up and rubbed his hands together excitedly. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get to it.¡± He stood and walked to one of the compartments in the side of the room and pulled out a blank piece of paper that was a somewhat standard in size. Then, coming back to the table, he picked up his quill, dipped it into the ink, and got to work. Chapter 46 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 46 Dante stared at the map blankly. ¡°Thisis the noble¡¯s territory?¡± The cartographer had a smile on his face as he nodded in reply. ¡°I did pretty well, don¡¯t you think?¡± He continued to stare at the map. The cartographerdiddo a good job, but that wasn¡¯t the point. The noble¡¯s territory wasgigantic.¡°This isjustthe Outer Edge region?¡± The cartographer indicated to the small map. ¡°Of course, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to fit the Outer region on that tiny piece of paper, it¡¯s far too large.¡± He would have never thought that the Outer Edge region was so vast¡­ he had always heard it was the smallest region in Aleria. If there was one saving grace, it was that he was already close to the wasteland border. Initially, he thought that he wasveryclose, only an inch away on the map. But then he saw how close Grimspeak was to Kenguard. The two cities, which were almost 100 miles apart from each other, were only narrowly separated from each other by a tiny sliver of open space. Using that as a reference he estimated that he was a little over 2,000 miles away from the border. Dante let out a sigh. It could be worse, far worse. If he wasn¡¯t already close to the border, it could have taken him several months to get there, but given his agility and endurance, he could make it in less than a month easily¡­ if unhindered. There were two cities in between Grimspeak and the border. The first was Iraedon, which was located directly in his path and about halfway to the border. The second was Vrita. Vrita was out of his direct path, if only slightly, but it was practically touching the wastelands border and may be a good supply point. Dante glanced up at the cartographer, he had dozens of questions to ask about the map and the cities on the way to the border, but they would all give his destination away if the Calmans found out that he had been in Grimspeak. It was the reason he had a map made of the entirety of the Outer Edge region. ¡°Thank you, it¡¯s perfect.¡± He rolled the map up and slipped it into his sack, then drew out enough coppers to equal the two silvers he owed and paid the cartographer. The cartographer got up to get a blank piece of paper for a new map and sat back at his table. ¡°The pleasure was mine.¡± After that, the cartographer dipped a quill into the jar of ink and completely dismissed him. Dante shrugged and turned to leave, he didn¡¯t mind the cartographer''s lack of interest in him. Quite the opposite actually, he preferred it. The less interest the cartographer had in him, the less likely it was that he would be remembered. Stepping out onto the street, the first thing he noticed was that the sun was no longer up. It had taken far longer to make the map than he had realized. It messed up his plans slightly. He was going to use the rest of the money he had to buy supplies for the road, then leave Grimspeak before the gates were closed for the night, but that no longer seemed to be an option. Not only was it unlikely that any shops selling road rations would still be open, but there was also no way he would make it out of the fortress that was Grimspeak unnoticed when the gates were closed. Letting out a sigh, Dante began to walk the streets of Grimspeak aimlessly, looking for an inn that he could stay at for the night. The streets were still packed full of people, and all of the buildings lookedexactlythe same. He found himself just looking around Grimspeak, and the people within, wondering how the entire thing could even function. What do they even do? He couldn¡¯t understand how so many people could sustain themselves. None of them were farmers, they couldn¡¯t hunt, and there were too many to just be shopkeepers or craftsmen. It raised the question, how did so many people even make enough money to sustain themselves? Regardless, there was no way he would find an inn when every building looked exactly the same. Dante cleared his throat and grabbed the attention of the man to his side. ¡°Excuse me, do you know where I can find an inn to stay at?¡± Instead of an answer, he was awarded a look of irritation, then was completely ignored.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Thinking it was a one-off thing, Dante turned to the woman on his left instead. ¡°Excuse me, but do you know where I can find an inn.¡± The woman glanced back at him and flipped back her long brown hair, just as irritated as the man he had just asked. ¡°Get away from me.¡± He asked three more people after that, but received similar results. It seems as though my appearance wasn¡¯t the only thing stopping people from talking to me¡­ Giving up on asking for directions, Dante walked to the side of the street, then stepped into an alley. Gritting his teeth, he stepped through the mush of human waste at his feet, it seemed like people just threw their chamber pot waste anywhere that people didn¡¯t walk through. Then, when no one was watching, he Blinked upward. Thankfully, the stone roof was completely flat, and although it wouldn¡¯t provide the luxury that a bed would, it was good enough. Deciding now would be the best time to assign his world essence, Dante opened up his Status. He had ended up killing six groups of combatants in the forest, which had netted him slightly over 3,400 world essence. But so far, he had held off on assigning it in favor of saving it for specializing his Chronomancer class. Now that he had a moment of respite, it would be foolish to not gain the extra attributes that leveling his Classifications would provide. He looked over his Classifications, both the Revenant and Blader Classifications were worth leveling. The Blader Classification would speed up his journey, and the Revenant Classification would stop him from getting killed. That line of thinking done, he leveled the two of them. World Essence waiting to be assigned: 3,432 Chronomancer lvl 10/10 (0/10,000 world essence) Blademancer lvl 7/10 (0/700 world essence) Blader lvl 7/10 (0/700 world essence) Revenant lvl 6/10 (0/600 world essence) Recent World Essence gain: 2,476 World Essence for Killing: Warrior x 24 931 World Essence for Killing: Ranger x 6 Revenant has reached level 8 Attributes have been added: +2 Strength +2 Constitution Skill description for Rebirth of the Revenant has been updated Blader has reached level 9 Attributes have been added: +2 Dexterity +2 Agility Skill description for Blade Dancer has been updated Leveling both of them twice left him with a little over 600 world essence leftover. Dante closed his Status. Finding comfort on the flat stone roof, he curled up to protect his valuables and drifted asleep.
Andrea Calman Andrea was in the middle of bathing herself when there was a knock on her bathroom door. ¡°Come in.¡± Vicar stepped through the doorway with an uncomfortable expression on his face, which amused her greatly. She ran her hand through the water. ¡°Did you come to join me, Vicar?¡± Vicar cleared his throat. ¡°No, my lady. Layla has sent her report from the academy.¡± Andrea pouted. ¡°All work and no play, how boorish.¡± She continued to run her hands through the water, then absentmindedly asked. ¡°Is she sending the boy?¡± ¡°No, my lady.¡± His words caused Andrea to glance up, making him even more nervous. ¡°He somehow got away¡­ and when Layla deployed Trackers they were unable to pick up a trail.¡± ¡°Oh? How interesting, I wonder who he received help from¡­ likely House Ramotar.¡± Andrea pondered over the implications, for a moment. ¡°Varik should still be distracting House Ailloss, right?¡± Vicar nodded in reply. ¡°Yes, my lady. There hasn¡¯t been any movement on his end, and their information networks are crippled.¡± Andrea stood up from the bath, revealing her near perfect figure and causing Vicar¡¯s face to redden as he glanced away. ¡°What is Layla doing about it?¡± ¡°She has begun to spread the Tackers out further in an attempt to pick up a scent.¡± Andrea let out a sigh, then grabbed a towel and began to pad herself dry. ¡°The girl may have the ambition¡­ but she seems to lack everything else. Hopefully she will grow out of it.¡± She continued to dry herself silently, considering House Ramotar¡¯s objective carefully. ¡°I assume that Layla, at the very least, had an Artist Classification take a proper sketch of him while he was still at the academy?¡± ¡°Yes, my lady. She followed the standard procedures for those with potential.¡± Andrea walked over to sit in front of the mirror while continuing to dry off her hair. ¡°And which units are currently in that area?¡± ¡°Charles¡¯ and Eric¡¯s units are close by, they could get there in a few hours by raptor.¡± She turned to Vicar with a charming smile. ¡°That¡¯s perfect. Send Eric¡¯s group out between the academy and the wasteland border. I want every major city to be checked, entering or leaving. Place Charles¡¯s Infiltrators between the academy and House Ramotar¡¯s territory for reconnaissance, but tell them not to engage. Those should be the only two routes he takes to escape¡­¡± ¡°¡­ and for the sketches.¡± She thought it over carefully, a delicate touch needed to be used, or they could lose too much potential. ¡°Make copies of his sketch and send it out. I want it everywhere, but don¡¯t use color, and don¡¯t mention his hair or eye color in the description.¡± Vicar cleared his throat. ¡°Those two things may be the easiest way to identify him, my lady.¡± Andrea rolled her eyes. ¡°Of course they are. If you were in his position, or someone who was in a position to help him, what would you try to hide first.¡± Vicar hesitated, but nodded in agreement. ¡°Set the bounty at one thousand gold, and post it everywhere. Make sure everyone in the Noble Territory knows his face within the week.¡± She gestured for him to leave. ¡°Yes, my lady.¡± Chapter 47 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 47 Dante sat up with a groan, stretching out his stiff back. The months he had spent at the academy had completely ruined him. If he could go back in time, he never would have slept in that cursed bed. It made the hard floor, which he had always slept on, completely unbearable in comparison. After removing the stiffness in his back, he gritted his teeth and Blinked back down into the alley. Then, after making his way through the mush of human waste, he walked back out to join the crowded streets. It seemed that no matter the hour, the streets of Grimspeak were all at full capacity. He couldn¡¯t imagine living in such a place. He had only been in the city for a day, but the lack of space was already making him nauseous and eager to leave. Thankfully, the ¡®square¡¯ had been far easier to find than the inn had been. All he had to do was walk towards the center of Grimspeak until the traffic slowed to a near halt and the yelling became deafening. In the clustered city of Grimspeak, It was a strange thing to behold, a completely open space. That wasn¡¯t to say that it wasn¡¯t cluttered though. The entire area was jammed packed with carts that merchants and craftsmen sold their wares from. It was hard to believe some of the prices for food. A small piece of fruit sold for the same price as a dagger at around 15 coppers, it was something that seemed inconceivable to him. He completely ignored those carts, having no intention of wasting his money to such an extent. On the bright side, the carts that didn¡¯t sell food had ridiculously low prices and were practically devoid of customers. It only took him ten minutes, and 30 coppers, to come away with a new travel bag that would be suitable for his trip. That done, he looked around for provisions. The grain section, which seemed to be the only food being sold at a reasonable price, wasn¡¯t hard to find. It took up almost half of the entire square. At two coppers for a loaf of bread, the price was still somewhat extreme. Still, it was far better than any alternative being sold. Dante walked up to one of the carts selling bread, then got in the massive line that extended from it while he listened to those around him muttering about the fight that had started at the academy. Apparently, news had just arrived earlier that morning. His time in line should have been pleasant. An uninterrupted wait in an area that was almost too loud to hear anyone else. It should have given him time to collect his thoughts and plan his journey with the help of his new map. But all of that was thrown out the window by his growing paranoia, even if it was likely justified paranoia. Standing in front of him was a short man that was fingering the handle of his sheathed sword with a combatant glove-covered hand. Which alone wouldn¡¯t have made him alert, but the furtive glances that the combatant gave him did. It wasn¡¯t just the combination of his short dark hair and sinister expression. It was how alert the man was. It seemed like if he made any move, the combatant would be ready to cut off his escape.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Dante kept his guard up, preparing to Blink away in the event of a sneak attack as the two of them slowly made their way to the front of the line. He considered playing it safe and leaving the line, but heneededto buy bread for his journey, and it seemed like regardless of when he chose to go, he would be leaving with company. It wasn¡¯t as though he couldn¡¯t find food along the way. He just couldn¡¯t eat random plants due to his lack of knowledge, hunting for food was still a possibility though. The problem lied in the time it would take for him to stalk prey each day. The mere act of finding his own food would slow his progress down to almost half speed, unless he got lucky and caught an animal or creature unaware as he traveled. Stalking an animal while simultaneously moving at full speed was nearly impossible. He and the combatant had finally made it to the front of the line, and the combatant bought a single loaf of bread and stood to the side, watching him carefully. Damn. Still, if he werealreadyin trouble, he wouldn¡¯t pass up the opportunity to stock up. Dante stepped forward, and instead of attempting to talk in the deafening atmosphere, he handed over 60 coppers to the waiting merchant. The merchant¡¯s eyebrows rose, but he seemed unwilling to pass up the opportunity to make such a large sale and began to count out the thirty loaves, placing them into his awaiting travel pack. As soon as the last loaf was placed in his new pack, he tied it shut in a fraction of a second, and threw himself into the crowd. Away from the short combatant. He only made it a few feet when he felt a yank on his shoulder. Dante barely managed to hold in his curse, the combatant¡¯s strength was far stronger than he had expected and likely slightly higher than his own. ¡°Where are you going,friend?¡± He could just barely hear the words over the loud crowd. Dante allowed himself to be yanked, giving no indication of his own strength, and facing the man with an oblivious expression. ¡°Can I help you?¡± The combatant maintained an iron grip on his left shoulder and began to lead him through the crowd and away from the deafening crowd. ¡°No, no. It¡¯s what I can do for you. You seem to be new in Grimspeak, maybe I could show you around?¡± Although the man said the words nonchalantly, he was patting Dante down for a weapon as he said it. Dropping his guard noticeably when he didn¡¯t find one. Still, it didn¡¯t stop him from sticking a dagger against Dante¡¯s side. That gave him pause. If the combatant knew who he was, he should have known about his ability to make weapons¡­ and even if he didn¡¯t know, he shouldn¡¯t have dismissed the possibility that he was a mage Classification, no matter how rare they were. But it raised the question; why was he singled out? It was possible that he just looked like an easy mark, but that was far too unlikely. Regardless, allowing the man to do what he wanted with him was a poor choice, and his misgivings about killing a possibly innocent person were shattered as the grip on his shoulder tightened and forced him to turn down a different street. Keeping it discreet, Dante created a small dagger. He held it low to his side and out of sight as he began to pump world essence into it. He was going to kill the combatant, but decided it would be best to try and get answers first. ¡°How did you know who I was?¡± The combatant¡¯s grip tightened, and he cracked a smile that was almost a sneer. ¡°Do you really think you can hide with a thousand-gold bounty on your head?¡± A thousand-gold bounty¡­? He wasn¡¯t sure why the sum surprised him so much. A thousand gold coins were nothing to the Calmans, but at the same time, it seemed like far too much. His face would be memorized by every combatant in the noble territory. ¡°When was the bounty posted?¡± There was no way that it had been up when he entered Grimspeak yesterday, the guards would have recognized him. The combatant''s smile was no longeralmosta sneer. ¡°Just posted this morning. My luck couldn¡¯t get much better.¡± Dante nodded, then snapped his hand out to stop the combatant¡¯s dagger while simultaneously ramming his dagger through the man¡¯s gut and twisting it. ¡°I wholeheartedly agree.¡± He immediately destroyed the blade and continued to walk forward through the crowd as if nothing had happened. Making it several feet away before the screams behind him pierced the air. Chapter 48 Dante¡¯s Immortality - Chapter 48 Guards began to swarm in, drawn in by the sound of the crowd''s screams. The entire situation actually worked in his favor. No one was paying any attention to him at all, and ducking his head to hide was far more effective without his silver hair. Dante immediately headed for the gates, he needed to leavenow. Staying an extra day had been a massive mistake, but he hadn¡¯t expected the Calmans to have spread wanted posters so quickly. Actually, he had thought that they had been so reliant on their Trackers that they wouldn¡¯t resort to conventional means, such as a bounty. Even with his hair and eyes changed, his features would still match the sketch, making him easily identifiable. And with a newly posted one thousand gold bounty, every second counted. Anyone who even walked past it would mark down his features so that they could recognize him on the off chance that they stumbled upon him. Just thinking about it made it hard to restrain himself from shoving his way through the crowd to move faster, but he managed. When he finally made it to the gates that lead to the stairway out of Grimspeak, he was met with an unwelcome surprise. Contrary to what Clint had told him the day prior, the guardswerechecking anyone who was leaving. Carefully examining them before letting them past, but not checking any sort of documents. Dante let out a curse. It didn¡¯t take a genius to see why they were doing that. Grimspeak¡¯s high altitude location was turning into a type of nightmarish prison. Blinking over the gate was an option, but there was no way that he wouldn¡¯t be seen and chased. The best-case scenario was leaving Grimspeak without anyone who was alive knowing he had ever been there¡­ which was impossible unless he made a few detours. Not only would he need to track down and kill Clint, who he was quite certain would be willing to sell him out for a thousand gold, but the cartographer would also be a potential threat if left alive. Dante took a deep breath. He might have been able to kill Clint if he knew where the man was. From his brief trip with Clint, he knew the world wouldn¡¯t miss the man if he were dead. The cartographer was different though. He wouldn¡¯t involve an innocent man who had done nothing but help him. That line of thinking done, his new best-case scenario was to get out of Grimspeak with a significant head start. Enough of a head start to lose any potential pursuers in the open stretch of land between Grimspeak and the border. Dismissing the idea of heading down the stairway, Dante cut through the crowd toward the lifts. As soon as he neared them, he moved to the side of the road and kept his head down and waited. In less than five minutes he was rewarded by a cart led by two horses pushing through the dense crowd toward the lift. Holding his breath, Dante pushed into the crowd, then crouched to reduce his visibility and lower himself to the appropriate height. Then he Blinked directly under the cart, holding on to the bottom of it and letting it carry him toward the lift as he waited for some commotion to indicate that someone had noticed him. But the commotion never came. It seemed like the sudden Blink hadn¡¯t caught the attention of anyone, or anyone who saw it didn¡¯t realize what had happened. Dense crowds definitely had their pros. Relying on the anonymity of the crowd to hide his Blink was his best idea to get out of Grimspeak on short notice, and even though it was a horrible idea, it had still worked. The cart rolled up to the guards at the lift, and Dante calmed his breathing to be as quiet as possible as two of the guards began to systematically check the cart. A gruff voice came from the front of the cart. ¡°What do youthinkyou are doing? I pay extra so that I don¡¯t get checked.¡± The guards didn¡¯t pause, and one of them answered absentmindedly. ¡°Calm down you thieving bastard, we won¡¯t touch yourmerchandise.Everyone gets checked today, no exceptions.¡± The sound of discontent muttering came from the front of the cart, but other than that there was no answer. ¡°Alright, everything seems to be in order.¡± The guard who had talked earlier began to lead the cart toward the gate. ¡°You can be damn sure of that, and let Aldric know I¡¯m not paying him next month if thisshitcontinues.¡± The crack of an indignant whip rang out. Causing the horses to hurry forward, even though they were only a few feet away from the lift. As soon as the cart was securely on the lift, they slowly began descending toward the ground below.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. So far, things were goingfarbetter than he had anticipated. Now he just needed to find an opportune moment to separate from the cart. The lift clicked as it collided lightly on the floor and came to a stop, allowing the cart to move forward, and it had barely moved when the cart driver spoke up loudly. ¡°What do you lot of bastards want?¡± What now? A matter-of-fact tone replied to the driver. ¡°We are stationed here by the orders of House Calman. No one may enter or leave Grimspeak without being checked first.¡± Dante cursed internally, then shifted his grip on the cart so that he had a free hand to carry a weapon. He created a long dagger began pumping it full of world essence and shaping it. A whip sounded out, and the horses moved forward. ¡°I was already checked. Out of my way, you lot of bastards.¡± There was an impact on the cart, and it came to a halt. The man who was talking to the cart driver had stopped two horses with a single hand, and Dante held back his curse. He was strong, too strong. ¡°Regardless of whether or not you were checked already, youwillbe rechecked.¡± This time there was no response. The cart driver seemed to realize the gravity of the situation. Dante was debating whether or not to make a preemptive move when a head popped into view as one of the guards inspected the bottom of the cart. Acting before the guard could utter a word, he Blinked closer to him and plunged the dagger into his eye. Then, without stopping, he moved to attack the guard who stopped the cart. Not only was he the clear leader, but it was likely that he was the largest threat present. Dante Blinked out, utilizing his element of surprise to stab directly into the leader¡¯s eyes. He knew for a fact that he had caught the man off-guard, the widening of his eyes made that apparent, but somehow the leader got his sword up in time to block his blow. Dante Blinked out, completely disengaging the leader and eyeing him warily. Not only were his Strength and Dexterity absurd, but the speed that he formed a world essence blade was insane. Even using Blink, his chances in an upfront confrontation were abysmal. The leader saw how careful he was acting and gave him a cocky smile, there wasn¡¯t a trace of anxiety on his face. ¡°Looks like I¡¯m due for a promotion, my luck couldn¡¯t get much better.¡± That was the second time he had heard those words that day, but this time they didn¡¯t seem nearly as ironic. Instead of answering, he took a moment to check his surroundings. Aside from the cart he rode on with the two horses harnessed to it, there were three guards, the leader, and the corpse of the one he killed. Behind the guards, there were five horses tethered to a tree. Those would be his best chance of escaping¡­ but he had no experience in riding at all. The other three guards didn¡¯t seem like much of a threat, they were all hesitating to attack him, but he would need to at least deal with their leader if he was going to have any chance of getting away. Dante created another weapon, this time a short sword. He began to recklessly fill it with world essence, not bothering to shape it. There was also another potential threat he needed to be wary of, if they were checking everyone leaving Grimspeak, there would be another group of guards by the stairway. More regular guards wouldn¡¯t be a problem, but if they had another combatant like the leader he was facing, his chances of escape would be demolished. The new weapon he was creating had finally reached capacity. Dante Blinked forward, back to where he had been initially and only inches away from the leader, then he stabbed forward with both of his weapons. The leader sneered, thenswipedout at his weapons with hisunarmedhand while simultaneously stabbing Dante through the gut with amazing speed. There were groans of pain as the two of them both sustained damage. Dante with a sword through the gut, and the lead guard with his self-sustained injuries from blocking his dagger with an open hand. The two of them paused briefly, but then a look of realization crossed the leader''s face, and it was his turn to sneer. Dante Blinked away, putting as much distance between himself and the guard as he could before the sword he Blinked behind the leader exploded. He had just managed to place some distance between them when the sword exploded, sending shards of shrapnel into all of the guards, but causing the lead guard to sustain the most extensive damage. All of the guards were downed, and he Blinked back to finish them off while activating his Rebirth of the Revenant at two percent to heal the large wound through his gut. He started killing the ones who sustained the least damage first. The killing seemed to be enough to completely stop his wound from bleeding out. Then, after killing the other guards, he moved back to the leader. The lead guard seemed to have weak Constitution and was almost certainly dead, but he wouldn¡¯t take any chances. The last thing he needed was for someone that strong to search for him with a vengeance. As he moved closer, Dante¡¯s expression became unsightly. The lead guard washealinghimself. What Classification does he have? The self-heal was far superior to his Rebirth of the Revenant passive. He could see the holes in the guard¡¯s body stop bleeding, then repair themselves one by one. The guard was still pale from the lack of blood, but he was in no threat of dying. Upon seeing it, he Blinked above the guard and aimed his long dagger downward, intent on taking the leader¡¯s life. But the man seemed to be waiting for such a move. With a reaction time that seemed hard to believe, he swatted Dante¡¯s blade to the side, thenkickedhim away. Then, with a cocky smile back on his face, the guard stood and raised his sword towards Dante. ¡°Not bad, but you won¡¯t surprise me like that again.¡± Then he turned to the stairway and shouted as loud as he could. ¡°Jared get your ass over here!¡± Shit. Instead of being stalled by a guard that didn¡¯t seem killable, Dante Blinked to the horses by the cart. The driver continued to watch dumbfounded as he slashed their throats, then he Blinked to the tree were the guard¡¯s horses were. He stabbed into four of their throats, not taking the time to ensure the kill, but made sure they would be slowed at the very least, then cut the reins on the last horse and jumped on its back. Even though he didn¡¯t have any riding experience, he decided to risk fleeing on horseback before the exhaustion from his passive kicked in. He settled into the saddle with a death grip and slapped the horse on its hindquarter with the flat of his blade, causing it to shoot off at an all-out sprint. Chapter 49 Dante¡¯s Immortality - Chapter 49 Dante continued to glance around, looking for an opportunity to get rid of the demon he was sitting on while at the same time lose his pursuers. Any lead that he had initially started with was destroyed by his poor riding skills. He was constantly losing his seating, barely hanging on to the horse, and then pulling himself back up. The damn beast didn¡¯t even seem useful, even though it was far faster than any other horse he had seen. The speed it ran was only marginally faster than he was in an all-out sprint¡­ if his Rebirth of the Revenant passive hadn¡¯t exhausted him, that is. The skill, which was useful for keeping his insidesinsidehis body,was taking its toll on him. Even though he only killed three enemies at two percent, almost completely healing his single gut wound, he could feel the sluggishness set into his body. Dante glanced back. The five guards were still on his tail and gaining. Two of them in particular were downright frightening. The first, riding forefront with the same cocky smile, was the guard he should have killed. The other, who was only slightly behind him, was Jared. He didn¡¯t know much about Jared, but given that he talked to theundeadguard as though they were equals, it didn¡¯t bode well for him. He created two cheap swords and began to fill them with world essence. Now that they were within range, and he was within the range of their two archers¡¯ arrows, it was time to try and reopen some of the distance. Glancing back and picking his shots carefully, he blinked both of the swords at one of the archers. The shrapnel tore through both the archer and the horse, causing the animal to cry out and crumple under the archer. And although he couldn¡¯t see the whether or not the archer lived, it was unlikely that he would be able to continue the chase without his horse. He saw other pieces of the shrapnel fly into the other horses and guards, but they barely flinched, a testament to both the rider and horses training. The other archer saw his friend go down, then quickly drew his bowstring back and released. Seeing the arrow coming, Dante swung his arm towards its path. Creating a new weapon just as it was about to reach him so that he could intercept it. Or at least he would have intercepted it if the horse hadn¡¯t jostled him, causing him to lose his bearing and miss the arrow. Dante winced as he watched the arrow sink deeply into his horse¡¯s hindquarter. To the beast¡¯s credit, it took the arrow rather well. Barely flinching, and only slowing its pace slightly. Still, it was enough to slowly close the gap between him and the two real threats. Not knowing how to best administer treatment to the horse, he decided to leave the arrow in and allow the horse to deal with it the best it could, then switched his focus back to the archer to diminish the possible damage he could inflict. Creating a second blade, he began to pump world essence into the two of them, Blinking it back to the archer to distract him as he shot the second arrow. The sword exploded, blasting shrapnel into the archer and his horse as he shot from his bow. The arrow sailed over him, completely missing both he and his horse. He was now left with a single sword that was packed with world essence and a weakened archer. He didn¡¯t hesitate to Blink his last sword, taking down the final archer. That done, Dante created a new sword with the maximum amount of mana and began forming an edge on it. There were only three guards left, and even though they had no ranged attacks, they were gaining steadily.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Dante calmed his breathing and used the remaining distance he had to regain his spent mana. He had no delusions, what he was planning was beyond stupid with his lack of ability on horseback. The three guards were still creeping up on him and were now only a few feet away. Gritting his teeth, Dante Blinked behind the weakest guard, slashing him through his neck with the blade, then tried to remove the fresh corpse from the saddle while maintaining his balance on the horse. His coordination from his Dexterity attribute aided him, and he was able to easily orient himself on the horses back, but mo matter which way he yanked, he couldn¡¯t get the damned corpse to disentangle from the saddle. The feet seemed to somehow be locked into the stirrups. Jared spoke up, seemingly impressed. ¡°Not bad kid, youdohave promise.¡± Neither of them seemed bothered in the slightest, they merely yanked on their reins and spun their horses to charge him. Cursing, Dante leaned over the corpse and picked up the horse¡¯s reins. He narrowly avoided the guard''s charge by catching them off-guard and rushing into the forest. Even though he laid flat against the corpse on the horses back, the branches of the surrounding trees still barraged him as he charged forward. He couldn¡¯t open his eyes for even the briefest moment, but he didn¡¯t allow the horse to slow its pace at all. The chase lasted for over an hour. No matter how far he got, or how fast he ran his horse, the crashing sound of his pursuers running through the forest behind him never disappeared¡­ and the exploding blades he Blinked at them didn¡¯t make any difference. The only thing that seemed to break up the chase was when he finally reached a large, circular clearing. It was completely barren aside from grass, and he used the opportunity look back and see how far away the two guards were. That seemed to be his fatal mistake. Somehow his horse lost its footing underneath him, completely flipping him through the air with the corpse as he flew forward. On instinct alone, he Blinked. Forcing himself as far to the side as possible to avoid being crushed underneath his horse or trampled or by his pursuers. The impact was the opposite of what he thought it would be. He didn¡¯t slide through the grass or tumble on the floor. As soon as he touched the floor, hestuckto it, exactly how he landed. What is this? He tried to Blink, but the mana just diffused. Just like it had when he was captured by the Forsaker. He was laying sideways on the floor, staring back towards the forest where he had come from when his two pursuers broke through the vegetation. As soon as their horses touched the grass next to his, they immediately came to a halt, throwing their riders forward to where he would have landed had he not Blinked. He couldn¡¯t tell whether or not he was happy that they had also gotten stuck. On one hand, they wouldn¡¯t capture him anytime soon¡­ on the other, if this situation was lethal, they wouldn¡¯t be able to save him. The two of them took the situation calmly though, and began talking to each other out of his view. Quiet enough so that he couldn¡¯t hear what was being said. Clearly, they were planning something. Meaning that either there wassomechance of survival, or they also didn¡¯t know what was going on. Dismissing his pursuers, Dante looked at the grass that was actually entrapping him. Not only was it ridiculously sticky, but it also had the effect of blocking Blink. He attempted to use Create Blade to create a new sword. Nothing. It wasexactlylike the Forsaker Classification. He couldn¡¯t think of a single way that things could turn out okay, but he could think of several ways that things could go badly as he began to slowly sink into the grass. He didn¡¯t want to rely upon the two who would enslave him given the chance, but the situation was somewhat desperate. ¡°Tell me that one of you has a way to get out of this.¡± The one who he came close to killing earlier snorted. ¡°Of course, we just need to kill it.¡± Jared spoke up with a voice full of annoyance. ¡°For the love of the Goddess, shut up Arron.¡± Why shouldn¡¯t he know that they needed to killit,whatever ¡®it¡¯ was? That seemed like somewhat pertinent information as he slowly sank down into the dirt. Dante cleared his throat. ¡°Do you think you could elaborate a bit?¡± Jared was quick to answer, likely trying to beat Arron to the punch. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we will handle everything. Can¡¯t let Andrea¡¯s new pet gettooroughed up.¡± Andrea? He had never heard the name before, but theywereHouse Calman¡¯s guards. So, he could assume she was a Calman. Potentially someone with more influence than Layla or Alexander. That didn¡¯t matter at the moment though, he needed to think of a way to deal with the two combatants that were sinking next to him. He didn¡¯t know what Jared could do yet, but Arron was one of the most exceptional fighters he had ever seen, and his Classifications definitely weren¡¯t standard. Dante hardened his resolve as he slowly sank into the ground. Hewouldkill the two of them, and whatever ¡®it¡¯ was as well. Chapter 50 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 50 Upon slipping into the ground, the first thing that he realized was that the ¡®grass¡¯ was just a thin layer that blocked a cavern lying underneath. As he sunk, there were a few uncomfortable moments. The first was when his mouth and nose were covered, making it close to impossible to breathe. He could still get in tiny amounts of air through the strands of grass that covered him, but by the time his mouth was once again exposed he was lightheaded and close to passing out. When his nose was finally exposed¡­ he wished it hadn¡¯t been. Never, in his life, had he smelt something so putrid. The second uncomfortable moment was when he was underneath the grass, but still connected to it. The cavern was completely dark underneath, he couldn¡¯t see how large it was, and he couldn¡¯t make some form of light with mana manipulation because the plant was disrupting his mana. So, he just hung there, awaiting the moment when the grass finally released him and allowed him to fall to the ground¡­ which hopefully wasn¡¯t a long drop. He still couldn¡¯t see or hear Jared or Arron and didn¡¯t try to look for them either. The last thing he needed was to struggle and get even more stuck. And his last worry was ¡®it¡¯. Whatever that was. He just needed to cross his fingers and hope that thing wasn¡¯t directly below him waiting. A few minutes later, he finally felt himself slip free. Before he could even really start to fall, he Blinked downward. Stopping himself from building momentum, and potentially stopping any fall damage. Two Blinks were enough to take him to the floor, or what he hoped was the floor. It felts like he was standing on large bags of mush, and every step seemed to penetrate through the mush, and make the smell so much worse. Dante began to move, knowing he needed to act quickly. It made sense that he would make it through the grass first, he was the first to fall into it. But Jared and Arron camerightafter him. So, he began to walk through the darkness, not wanting to make a source of light and give himself away. As he walked, he stumbled forward when his foot caught on one of the bags of mush and it gave slightly. Curious, Dante reached down to try and move it. It was long and heavy, even with his high strength it was awkward to carry, but he managed to pick it up. After making that discovery, he began to pile the bags of mush over himself, completely covering the entirety of his body from view. For some reason, it was several minutes later before he heard the first person drop down. Then a few silent minutes after that before the other one fell. Arron was the first to speak. ¡°Fucking predatory dungeon just about suffocated me, and now I have to deal with this fucking smell?¡± ¡°This wouldn¡¯t be happening if you hadn¡¯t tried to capture him by yourself.¡± A light flickered through the cracks between the bags that covered him, illuminating the entire room. ¡°These damn corpses are disgusting.¡± Corpses? The sacs couldn¡¯t be corpses¡­ they were far too inflated, and corpses didn¡¯t smellthisbad. Even if they were rotten. He began forcing all of his willpower into holding back his bile. Jared seemed to be similarly struggling. His voice was nasally as if he was pinching his nose. ¡°Speaking of Andrea¡¯s pet, where is he?¡± Arron snorted. ¡°The idiot is probably off getting himself killed trying to escape from this place. I don¡¯t know why you didn¡¯t tell him this was a dungeon.¡± Arron¡¯s accusation seemed to annoy Jared. ¡°That was exactly what I was trying to avoid, the last thing we needed was him getting hurt while trying to conquer a predatory dungeon by himself.¡± Jared paused to let out a sigh. ¡°This dungeon seems old, it may be more dangerous than we thought. Let¡¯s go, who knows how far he got with that damn skill of his.¡± The two of them walked out of the room, making everything go dark, and Dante sat in the pile of bodies for several minutes to make sure they weren¡¯t lying in wait for him.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. When he was convinced that it was safe, he threw the bodies away from him. Taking deep, gasping breaths of the slightly less putrid air. Then, creating a small ball of light through mana manipulation, he lit up the room and looked around. The room was far worse than he could have imagined. It seemed like the floor was made up entirely of the bodies, and that didn¡¯t change through the narrow corridor he saw across the room. There must have been hundreds in just the first cavern alone. Not only were they all inflated until they were barely recognizable as human, but they were also a sickly green color as well. The corpses didn¡¯t even bleed where they were punctured, it was like the blood just congealed into a strange fleshy substance inside of their bodies. They had called this dungeon a predatory dungeon, and it wasn¡¯t hard to see why it was named that. It seemed like such a waste though, all of the bodies were just rotting away for no reason. Mentally forcing himself to concentrate, he stalked through the corridor, which led into another large room. Other than the bloated corpses and the dozens of essence crystals scattered on the floor, the room was completely empty. It seemed that the two of them had been in such a hurry they hadn¡¯t bothered to collect them¡­ yet. He had no problem with it though, he hurried around the room, picking them up and quickly crushing them before moving on carefully to the next room, where he beheld a similar scene. Repeating the process, he crushed all of the crystals before moving on again. He had made it through a total of six rooms like that before finally catching up to them. Hearing the sound of fighting ahead, Dante extinguished the mana he used for lighting and carefully crept forward with two new blades in hand. He waited in the shadows of the corridor, blending in with the corpses by laying with them on the ground. What he saw was horrifying. The two of them weren¡¯t fighting dungeon monsters, they were fighting human like creatures. Or what were once humans. Dante grimaced as he looked at them, the dungeon¡¯s monsters were nightmarish. Their skin was deathly pale, and they all looked starved. Which might not have been so bad, but something about their lack of any hair and the loud screeching sound made them even more terrifying. They screamed ferociously as they ran toward Jared and Arron. He was more than happy to allow the two of them to handle all of the monsters. Ignoring Arron, who he had already fought, Dante observed Jared and his fighting tendencies. He was right to have been wary of him, unlike Arron, who seemed to rely on both speed and strength, Jared solely focused on offense. Every time he swung his weapon, a monster died. That wasn¡¯t what made Jared so scary though, what made him scary was the distance between him and the monsters he killed. None of them were even in range. Jared swung his sword through the empty air, but something across the room would be cut in half anyway. If he were fighting Arron alone, his chances wouldn¡¯t bethatbad. In fact, he was confident that he could kill Arron, he just needed to do it before he recovered with his healing ability. But Jared was a different beast altogether. His one saving grace was that the two of them had to capture him alive, which was probably what had led to his success so far¡­ If Jared had used that skill on him while he was fleeing, things would have ended badly. After all of the monsters died, Arron swaggered over to Jared. ¡°This is the eighth room since we entered. Given the location, the next room likely holds the dungeon boss.¡± He patted Jared on the shoulder. ¡°It is somewhat likely that we already missed the boy.¡± Jared looked somewhat peeved at Arron¡¯s close proximity. ¡°Yes, as I saidthreerooms ago, we should have gone back to check under the corpses.¡± Arron threw his hands up in mock surrender, a cocky smile still on his face. ¡°What can I say? You were right of course. I think that the best thing for us to do would be to split up. You head back to take care of the boy, I¡¯ll kill the dungeon boss.¡± Dante perked up. If the two of them split up, his chances of success would increase exponentially. Jared snorted. ¡°As if. You go and look for Andrea¡¯s pet, this entire mess is your fault. I¡¯ll take care of the dungeon boss.¡± Arron¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Don¡¯t be such a stingy bastard, you already have an active dungeon skill.¡± He motioned down to Jared¡¯s sword. That grabbed his attention. He didn¡¯t even consider that the skill Jared had used was from a monster crystal, it wassopowerful. Instead of replying, Jared tightened his grip on his sword and jumped away from Arron. Just narrowly managing to dodge a surprise attack from Arron¡¯s sword. As Jared flew through the air, he flung out his sword in a vertical slash. Slicing the air and directly attacking Arron from a distance. Arron seemed to be ready for the attack though. He spun, coming away from the unseen slash unscathed, then lunged at Jared. His surprising speed seemed to take Jared off-guard because he effortlessly slipped in and cut a deep slash into Jared¡¯s side. Dante¡¯s eyes narrowed as he watched the two, beginning to pump his swords with world essence. He wasn¡¯t sure what was going on, but was more than willing to take advantage of it. Jared hissed in pain, then viciously punched out with his free hand, attacking Arron with an unarmed fist. It had to have been a skill from his Classification, because the damage he inflicted on Arron was massive. Arron¡¯s entire chest crumpled, and the sound of bones breaking filled the room as Jared¡¯s fist connected and Arron coughed out blood. The residual force of the blow flung Arron¡¯s body back like a ragdoll, toppling end over end until it finally came to a rest on the cavern floor. Amazingly, not only was Arron still alive, but he was even laughing shallowly. ¡°Fine¡­ you get¡­ the damn boss.¡± Jared was silently glaring at Arron, holding the deep wound in his side to stop the bleeding. Dante took a deep breath. If there was a time to act, it was now. Chapter 51 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 51 Dante tightened his grip on his two swords. Using all of his concentration to form an edge on one, and filling the other so that it was ready to explode. As soon as they were filled, he Blinked. Appearing directly behind Jared, and stabbing toward his unprotected back with the edged sword. Jared¡¯s ability to dodge Arron¡¯s sneak attack must not have been pure intuition, because as soon as he Blinked behind him, Jared whirled, spinning away from the approaching blade while turning to face Dante. Still, he lacked Arron¡¯s speed, and his sword was still able to cut a new wound into Jared¡¯s left side, causing him to elicit a hiss of pain. As Jared spun, he began to swing his blade through the air, trying to kill his attacker, but as soon as he saw Dante, he hesitated and stopped the death blow. Taking advantage of Jared¡¯s hesitation, Dante blinked behind him, stabbing again. This time Jared was ready for it. As soon as he disappeared, Jared spun, bringing his sword up to block Dante¡¯s strike. Not only did Jared¡¯s sword block his strike, but he had so much strength that it continued almost undeterred toward Dante, forcing him to Blink away to avoid it. As soon as he Blinked away, the sword he teleported behind Jared exploded, sending shrapnel through him. The damage wasn¡¯t extensive enough to actually kill Jared, his Constitution was too high, but it did inflict enough damage to make him fall to one knee. Creating another sword in his now free hand while maintaining the world essence edge on his other, Dante positioned himself so that he could see both of his opponents. Both of them were struggling to stand, but Arron was looking healthier every passing second. ¡°I think-¡± Arron grunted as he stood. ¡°That if we don¡¯t get serious here, he may actually kill us.¡± Jared nodded. ¡°Yes, we may actually-¡± Dante didn¡¯t give them the opportunity to rally. He Blinked back to Jared while he was distracted, maintaining his focus on the more substantial offensive threat. While continuing to pump his new sword with world essence so that it would be ready to explode, he swung at down with all of his strength, forcing Jared to parry the incoming swing. Dante feinted, avoiding Jared¡¯s superior strength. Then Blinked as Arron attacked him from his blind side with impressive speed. If he hadn¡¯t been waiting for it, Arron likely would have taken him by complete surprise. His two opponents were now grouped together, and he used a majority of his remaining mana to Blink his armed sword between them. To their credit they both reacted instantaneously, jumping away from the sword before it exploded. But they weren¡¯t fast enough to dodge it entirely. Jared received the brunt of the blow, not making it nearly as far away as Arron, and the force of the shrapnel mixed with the momentum from his jump sent him sprawling through the floor. Arron didn¡¯t fare much better. He made it further away than Jared, receiving less of the force, but he lacked the overall Constitution that Jared had and the shards of metal tore through him. Dante took a moment to recover. His mana was nearly drained, but so far, the fight was going better than he could have hoped. ¡°Damn it!¡± Jared slammed his fist against the ground, then glared at him. ¡°If you think that I¡¯ll let you killme, you are afool.¡± Jared reached over to the sword that had fallen by his side, then immediately swung it horizontally at him. Dante hit the floor, unsure if the skill was actually used, but he was thankful that Jared projected his intentions before attacking all the same. He checked his mana, enough left for two Blinks. Not wasting any time, he Blinked to Arron, placing himself directly between the two and hopefully stopping Jared from using his ranged attack with the threat of friendly fire. It didn¡¯t. As soon as Dante Blinked over to Arron, Jared attacked him again. Wasting his remaining mana, Dante Blinked away and narrowly dodged the strike. Dante looked back to the corpse, stunned. Arron was too weak from his injuries to avoid Jared¡¯s invisible slash and was cut into two separate pieces. He wasn¡¯t sure how he felt about it. He was more than happy that Arron was dead, but seeing that the skill was that powerful on an actual combatant, and not just monsters, was terrifying. Even if Arron¡¯s Constitution was mediocre. Slaughtering his comrade didn¡¯t seem to faze Jared in the slightest, as soon as Dante appeared again, he swung his sword through the air toward him diagonally. Then, as Dante rolled to the left to avoid the blow, he slashed horizontally at his rolling form. Jared was kneeling on the ground, but still managed to give him a menacing smile. ¡°Finally out of mana?¡± Dante cursed, then pushed against the ground mid-roll and managed to get a few feet in the air. He could feel the force of Jared¡¯s slash pass below him, causing a shiver to crawl up his spine. Thankfully, his dodging had bought him enough mana to reuse Blink, but he needed to make it count. As soon as Dante reconnected to the floor, he immediately regained his footing, just in time to see Jared start to swing his sword yet again. Jared¡¯s mana seemed limitless, and instead of dodging the attack, he jumped toward it. Praying that his timing was correct, he Blinked when he thought the attack was coming toward him. Dante appeared in front of Jared as he finished the swing, catching him completely off-guard and rammed a sword through his gut. He gave it a twist, causing Jared to scream in pain while swinging his sword down in retaliation. Thankfully, due to the short range, the direction of his cut was far easier to judge. He effortlessly got out of the way, at the cost of leaving his sword in Jared¡¯s gut.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. As he dodged backward, he broke up the sword. It left him completely defenseless and without a weapon with his low mana, but Jared would bleed out far faster with a gaping hole in his stomach. Jared released a guttural scream as he swung his sword toward Dante. His sword moved far slower than before, about half its previous speed, and he moved out of the way smoothly. ¡°Bastard¡­¡± As soon as Jared heaved out the last word, he fell forward, losing his grip on his sword and passing out. Dante walked forward, then picked up Jared¡¯s sword and plunged it into his neck. He was likely already on death¡¯s door, but after his experience with Arron, he wouldn¡¯t make the mistake of leaving such a large threat alive for a second longer than necessary. Dante slumped to the ground. The fight went far better than he expected, he had come away completely unscathed. He actually regretted not killing Arron himself. The world essence gain would have been nice, but he wasn¡¯t really in a position to complain about it. Still, it didn¡¯t mean he wouldn¡¯t benefit from Arron¡¯s blood. He pulled his glove out and walked over to Arron¡¯s corpse, then dipped it in his blood and examined it. Surprisingly, there was no change. It didn¡¯t really make much sense, Arron clearly had a Classification that he had never evenseenbefore. Curious, reached over to remove Arron¡¯s combatant glove and was surprised by what he found. Not only were theretwoClassification symbols that he had never seen before, but there were also two crystals lodged inside of his skin. Both of the crystals were located opposite to the symbol of the Goddess, and on the underside of his wrist. He waited for a bit more of his mana to recharge, then created a new weapon and began digging the crystals out of Arron¡¯s arm. It was hard to see when they were lodged in his skin, but after he held the crystals up to the light he saw that one had a slight tinge of brown and the other was red. They looked exactly like the monster crystal he had attained from the goblin dungeon boss. Sam had told him that he wouldn¡¯t be able to use a monster crystal unless he killed the dungeon boss himself, but it wouldn¡¯t stop him from trying. He opened up his Status¡¯ Monster Crystals tab, but there were no monster crystals that could be infused. After making that discovery, he tried to crush them to get the world essence, but he couldn¡¯t. No matter how hard he squeezed, they wouldn¡¯t break. It was in stark contrast to the last monster crystal he broke, which shattered as easily as glass. Releasing a sigh, he pocketed the crystals. It was likely that they would havesomeuse in the future. After that, he looked back to the corpse. There were definitely Classifications that his glove didn¡¯t have, but for some reason, it wouldn¡¯t absorb them. Dante took off the spare combatant¡¯s glove that he had been wearing, then replaced it with his own. He then dipped it into Arron¡¯s blood experimentally and watched what happened. As the glove absorbed the blood, two new symbols came into existence. Dante stared at the glove for a moment, pondering the implications of his new discovery. If the gloveneededhim to wear it in order for it to absorb Classifications, what did that really mean? For the time being, he dismissed the thought and moved on to Jared¡¯s corpse. This time he immediately checked under the combatant¡¯s glove. He was somewhat shocked that Jared only had one Classification and two monster crystals, but he quickly got over it and carved the crystals out of Jared¡¯s wrist. After checking his Status again, and being disappointed, he tried to crush the monster crystals for the world essence. Surprisingly it worked. The crystals were crushed in his hand easily, barely any effort was needed. Did ownership of the crystals transfer when I killed him? That was a possibility, but ownership of Arron¡¯s crystals didn¡¯t seem to transfer to when he killed Jared, who would have been the new owner of Arron¡¯s crystals. The thought made Dante curse himself. Not killing Arron had just gone from a small loss to a massive one if that were the case. The amount of world essence he could have gotten from two monster crystals was probably enormous. Still, he was now itching to check his Classifications tab and see his recent world essence gain. Calming himself back down, he dipped his glove into Jared¡¯s body and acquired his single Classification. Then he walked around the cavern and crushed the essence crystals from the monsters that were killed earlier. That done, Dante gave a silent prayer to the Goddess and opened his Classifications tab. World Essence waiting to be assigned: 31,955 Chronomancer lvl 10/10 (0/10,000 world essence) Blademancer lvl 7/10 (0/700 world essence) Blader lvl 9/10 (0/900 world essence) Revenant lvl 8/10 (0/800 world essence) Recent World Essence gain: 521 World Essence for killing: Warrior x 5 248 World Essence for Killing: Ranger x 2 930 World Essence for Killing: Bruiser 16,284 World Essence from: Essence Crystal x 276 13,340 World Essence from: Monster Crystal x 2 He struggled to breathe after looking at the total world essence that he had. It was¡­absurd. Then he glanced down to his recent world essence gains and wanted to bash his head in. Over thirteen thousand world essence from two monster crystals¡­ and there were two others that he couldn¡¯t use because he hadn¡¯t killed Arron. The gain he got from the essence crystals was equally staggering. The group he had done his last dungeon with had complained that about getting 5 world essence per crystal from the goblins, but he didn¡¯t think a regular dungeon would give so much. Then again¡­ this wasn¡¯t a regular dungeon. Jared and Arron had called it a predatory dungeon, it was possible that the world essence he got was well above average. Everything else was pretty standard, the seven other guards he killed were non-specialized and basic Classifications, and Jared seemed to be something called a Bruiser. Thinking back to how he collapsed Arron¡¯s chest, the name seemed to downplay the Classification a tad bit. He also regretted not finding out the name of Arron¡¯s Classifications, but it wasn¡¯tsucha big deal. Without hesitating in the slightest, Dante leveled all of his Classifications to 10. Then completely ignored the notification messages, he had more important things to focus on, namely which Classifications to specialize. World Essence waiting to be assigned: 27,587 Chronomancer lvl 10/10 (0/10,000 world essence) Blademancer lvl 10/10 (0/10,000 world essence) Blader lvl 10/10 (0/10,000 world essence) Revenant lvl 10/10 (0/10,000 world essence) He glanced over his Classifications and weighed his options carefully. Chronomancer was an obvious choice at first glance. His Blink skill was by far his most useful skill, but at the same time, it was his only non-passive skill other than Create Blade. In any other situation, he wouldn¡¯t have hesitated to specialize Chronomancer, but from what Arron had told him earlier he needed to kill the dungeon boss before he could escape. The biggest problem he was having in his fights at the moment was his killing power. With Blink it wasn¡¯t hard to stay alive, but making killing blows was especially difficult with his mediocre ability in world essence manipulation or lack of offensive skill. That line of thinking done, he chose to first specialize his Blader Classification. With a heart that was beating rapidly, he fed his world essence into his Blader Classification and specialized it. For a split second, nothing happened. But then his Status flickered and disappeared. Confused, he immediately tried to reopen it, but couldn¡¯t. As soon as he tried to manipulate world essence into the symbol of the Goddess, it dissipated. It was like his wrist had turned into a chaos stone, sucking all the world essence from the surrounding area into his glove. At first, he thought that it was a part of specializing. But as more and more world essence was being sucked in, he noticed that his glove was beginning to heat up. As quickly as he could, he tried to tear the glove off of his hand. But it wouldn¡¯t budge, it was stuck to his skin as if it was infused with it. All he could do was watch the glove as it sucked in even greater amounts of world essence, the symbols on it beginning to shine brighter and brighter. It began heating up to a point that it became unbearable, like his hand was shoved into a furnace. Gritting his teeth, Dante did his best to endure the pain. Chapter 52 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 52 Somehow, the burning pain that enveloped his hand seemed to grow stronger every passing second. Building up for almost an hour and becoming an unbearable torture before it slowly started to recede. The pain almost didn¡¯t bother him in the slightest though. The real torture was the fear. The fear of possibly being unable to use his Status ever again. He even wondered if the glove would steal his Classifications like it seemed to do with all of the dead bodies he had taken the blood from. It was all he could think about while his hand burned. Compared to that fear, the pain was nothing. As soon as the pain completely faded, the first thing he did was try to tear the glove off. But it wouldn¡¯t budge in the slightest, still seemingly infused into his skin. Gritting his teeth, he attempted to tear it off, regardless of the cost. But no matter how much strength he pulled with, neither his glove or his skin would come apart. Taking a deep breath, and praying to the Goddess, he attempted to create a sword. To his relief, a dagger instantly came into existence. The fact that his Create Blade skill still worked abated several of his fears, but definitely not all of them. Using the dagger, he began to stab at the edge of the glove, trying to slice the glove off of his skin. No matter how much force he applied, the dagger wouldn¡¯t penetrate the glove or the skin underneath. He knew it wasn¡¯t from a lack of sharpness, he could easily slice the skin anywhere else on his body. It was strange though, when the dagger touched the glove he couldfeelit. Not like he usually would though, it was like the dagger was directly touching his skin and there wasn¡¯t a glove on his hand at all. The cold steel felt as though it was in his bare hand. There was no feeling of pain coming through though, no matter how hard he stabbed the glove with the dagger. Curious, Dante rubbed both of his hands against the floor. The texture of the ground felt the exact same with both hands. He could feel through the glove perfectly. For some reason, he found that to be disconcerting. Wanting to test the limits of his gloves seemingly new durability, Dante gritted his teeth and stabbed his hand as hard as he could. The dagger bounced off as if it had hit a wall. For a moment he thought of testing it with a world essence edge, but accidentally losing his hand because he wanted to test the limits of his glove would be stupid. Besides, he could test his glove later. He had more pressing matters to deal with at the moment, namely his specialization. It seemed like everything had gone wrong when he specialized, and there was a possibility he still hadn¡¯t specialized at all. Dante fed world essence into his wrist, and was more than relieved to see his Status pop up in front of him. But that relief only lasted for a moment. When he actually looked at his Status, he didn¡¯t know what to think. His Status was no longer the same blue that it always was. The once bright blue that matched the color of world essence was now a dark shade of blue, as if it was being tainted by the glove. Thankfully, his Status still worked, and it was hard not to be happy when he saw what was being displayed on it. Choose Specialization Skill or Upgrade for Blader: Upgrade Blade Dancer (Passive) to Blade Dancer (Classification): Change Blader Classification to Blade Dancer Classification and choose a new skill for Blade Dancer Classification. Choose Blade Dancer upgrade? Yes/No Blade Acceleration: Double agility for a short period of time. Cost: 40 Mana Duration: 10 seconds Choose Blade Acceleration? Yes/No Rigor Mortis: Stabs an enemy and stun them temporarily. Cost 150 Mana Stun Duration: 2 seconds Choose Rigor Mortis? Yes/No The options made him frown. Blade Acceleration and Rigor Mortis were helpful without a doubt, but changing his Classification was a complete gamble¡­ he was definitely considering it though. The last time he chose a skill for his Blader Classification there was an offensive skill, which he was planning on choosing, but it seemed to have been replaced by Rigor Mortis. Still, Rigor Mortis was an incredible skill. Three seconds may not be a long time, but being stunned for two seconds in a fight was a death sentence. Blade Acceleration also wasn¡¯t bad. It was one of the skills he had to choose from initially, and was also a good option. But changing Classifications was so risky¡­ even though it had the most potential by far. There was no description of the Blade Dancer Classification like there was when he chose his other Classifications. No indication of what would happen when he specialized it, or what skills there could be. He didn¡¯t even know if it was an upgrade or a downgrade. His Blade Dancer passive wasincrediblypowerful though, and he could be missing out on the chance of a lifetime if he didn¡¯t take the Classification. He couldn¡¯t decide, and tried to dismiss the notification so that he could specialize a different Classification. Possibly getting an offensive skill before making his decision for his Blader Classification, but it wouldn¡¯t close. It seemed that he had already begun to specialize and needed to finalize his decision. Giving a silent prayer to the Goddess, which was becoming a growing habit, he chose to change his Classification. Are you sure you want to upgrade Blade Dancer (Passive) to Blade Dancer (Classification)? Yes/No *Warning: any skills chosen are final* Holding his breath, he chose yes. Blader Classification has changed to Blade Dancer Classification, choose new skill: Dance of Dawn: Attack enemy with a barrage of mist swords a single time each. Mana Cost: 10 per mist sword attack Choose Dance of Dawn? Yes/No Corrupted Blades: Corrupt any weapon to temporarily double its ability to penetrate (stacks with other effects) Mana Cost: 5 per second per blade Number of Corrupted Blades at one time: unlimited Range: Blades within 100 feet Yes/No Yet another notification that he couldn¡¯t dismiss. But he wasn¡¯t complaining, his choice to change Classifications was definitely the right one. The skills were both fantastic offensive abilities.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. His choice was still difficult, but in a completely different way now. Dance of Dawn was a hard skill to judge. He didn¡¯t know how powerful the mist swords would be against someone with high Constitution. Corrupted Blades, on the other hand, was an amazing skill, but the mana cost was high. Five Mana per second was quite a bit, but the fact that its ability stacked with other effects made it ideal. If it doubled the penetration of his bladeswhilehe was using world essence manipulation, it would make him a force to be reckoned with. Not only that, but he could corrupt weapons within 100 feet. He wasn¡¯t sure how useful the range would be, but there had to be some uses for it. Going with the known rather than the unknown, this time at least, he chose Corrupted Blades. Are you sure you want to choose Corrupted Blade? Yes/No *Warning: any skills chosen are final* He chose yes. Attributes changed for Blade Dancer Classification, new attribute gain per level: +1 Dexterity +2 Agility After dismissing the notification, his Status returned to normal, and he closed it temporarily. Picking up the dagger he was attacking his glove with earlier, he used his Corrupted Blade skill on it. The dagger immediately darkened, and there was a black aura that seemed to drift from it like a barely visible mist. It feltmenacing. To test it, began stabbing and slicing at his glove. Unsurprisingly, nothing happened, but it was worth a shot. He stopped the corruption, and the blade turned back to normal. Then he created a world essence edge on the blade. He paused. The manipulated world essence was¡­strange. Not only was it now the same dark blue his Status had changed to, but it feltoff.Usually, world essence felt wild. Like it was an untamable beast, but could be shaped through force. Something was different though. It was slight, but it felt polluted with the emotions that the glove had infected him with before. He couldfeelthe pride and bloodlust radiating off of his weapon from the world essence. It didn¡¯t affect his emotions like it had before, but it was still worrying. Trying to focus, Dante stabbed the dagger into the floor of the cavern. It didn¡¯t pierce too deeply, but it still penetrated the hard dirt. Then he corrupted it and stabbed again. There was a noticeable difference in the depth the dagger reached after corrupting it. It wasn¡¯tquitetwice as deep in the ground, but that was likely due to the increased resistance in the ground as it went deeper. The skill seemed relatively straightforward. He reopened his now dark blue Status and moved to his Classification tab. World Essence waiting to be assigned: 17,587 Chronomancer lvl 10/10 (0/10,000 world essence) Blademancer lvl 10/10 (0/10,000 world essence) Blade Dancer lvl 11/20 (0/11,000 world essence) Revenant lvl 10/10 (0/10,000 world essence) The first thing he noticed was the cost to level his Blade Dancer Classification. It seemed ridiculous that it cost even more than specializing, and he couldn¡¯t help but wonder if it was because he changed his Classification from Blader. Choosing his next specialization was somewhat difficult, but it wasn¡¯t too bad. He considered Revenant, but he needed to focus on his offensive ability. Now that he had corrupted Blades to double penetration, stronger and sharper weapons would be a huge help. Holding his breath and feeding in the required world essence, he chose Blademancer. When nothing went wrong, he let out a sigh of relief. He had been expecting the worst, another agonizing hour with a burning glove, but instead, a notification popped up on his Status. Choose Specialization Skill or Upgrade for Blademancer: Upgrade Create Blade to Create Advanced Blade: Created weapons can now be manually enchanted. New Maximum Mana: 100 Blade Manipulation: Gives the ability to control created blades through the creator¡¯s will. Mana Cost: 2 per second for every blade controlled Maximum Range: 50 feet Maximum speed: 200 feet per second Blade Barricade: Create a wall of blades to block incoming attacks, will also impale physical attackers. Mana Cost: 10 per second Barricade Size: 10-foot x 10-foot wall Thankfully, there were no Classification changes to decide this time, but that didn¡¯t make it any easier. He had specialized Blademancer with the intention of upgrading his Create Blade skill. But looking at its description, and his other options, it might not be his best choice for now. The first issue he noticed was that the weapon¡¯s major change was an improvement through enchanting. The problem with that was fairly obvious, he lacked access to any type of Enchanter. The new maximum cost of 100 Manawasnice though¡­ But after looking at Blade Manipulation, he couldn¡¯t help but feel the skill necessary to choose. Even though he couldn¡¯t pack world essence into swords he wasn¡¯t touching, he could still corrupt them. The other reason he thought it was necessary was because several skills were missing from when he initially chose his skills. He could always upgrade Create Blade at a later time, but if he missed out on Blade Manipulation because it wasn¡¯t an option later, it would be something he always regretted. Coming to a decision, he chose Blade Manipulation. Are you sure you want to choose Blade Manipulation? Yes/No *Warning: any skills chosen are final* He chose yes. Attribute change for Blademancer Classification, new attribute gain per level: +1 Dexterity +1 Intelligence +1 Wisdom The Intelligence bonus was somewhat of a letdown. The extra mana would definitely be helpful, but he needed more mana regeneration to keep up with all of the new skills. The first thing he checked after specializing Blademancer, was its cost to level. Opening the Classification tab back up, he uttered a curse. It was also 11,000 world essence to level. Dante closed his Status and focused on the dagger he had been using earlier, lifting it in the air with a mere thought. Its movement felt like an extension of his mind. After playing around with the dagger for a few minutes, he got a good feel for the skill and its capabilities. The first thing he found, was that acceleration and deceleration took time. It was still quick, but it took a second to start and reach max speed or stop altogether. The second thing he noticed was that as the speed of the dagger increased, the directional control he had decreased. In order to make sharp turns with it, he needed to make it come to almost a complete stop. After playing around with the dagger, he found that the 200 feet per second max speed was slightly slower than an arrow shot from a standard bow. It wasn¡¯t disappointing in the slightest though, the swords larger mass could inflict far more damage. After he got a feel for the ability, Dante began to practice corrupting the weapon mid-flight. The hardest part was the timing. When he corrupted the dagger in his hand it was instantaneous, but there seemed to be a delay the further it was away. It was only around a second-long delay at the 50 feet, which was the maximum range of his Blade Manipulation skill. But when each second he spent corrupting it cost a full 5 mana, every second counted. After that, he created over twenty weapons. Trying to find the limit of his Manipulate Blade skill, he began to pull them all in the air and make them fly to his will. Controlling twenty weapons at once wasn¡¯t as difficult as he thought it would be. The mana drain was ridiculous at 100 per second, but itwaspossible. After stopping and waiting for his mana to regenerate several times, he finally got results from his test. As long as all the blades followed a similar path it was easy. He also found that if he focused on a single target, he could spread all of the weapons out, then shoot them all at it at the same time, or one after another. When he tried to control them each individually, he began to have problems. The blades he lost focus on would merely fall to the floor. He also tested his corruption on the new blades. He could corrupt them all at the same time, butbriefly.As soon as he did, he ran out of Mana and the weapons fell to the floor with their corruption lost. Testing done, he broke up all of the weapons and opened his Status¡¯ Attribute tab. Name: Dante HP: 200/200 Mana: 34/250 (+3.4/sec) Strength: 20 Constitution: 20 Dexterity: 33 (+4.95) Agility: 21 (+3.15) Intelligence: 25 Wisdom: 34 Charisma: 10 Overall, not bad at all. Somehow his Charisma had gone up a point¡­ again. It didn¡¯t make much sense, the last time he had checked it was at the academy, and he shouldn¡¯t have gotten another point in it since. He wasn¡¯t going to complain though. After checking his attributes, he switched to his skills tab. They should have changed slightly when he leveled his Classifications. Blink: Manipulate the power of space to teleport yourself or an object a short distance away. Cost: 30 Mana Range: up to 15 Feet Create Blade: Create permanent bladed weapon of choice with an average quality. Cost: up to 75 Mana Blade Manipulation: Gives the ability to control created blades through the creator¡¯s will. Mana Cost:2 per second for every blade controlled Maximum Range: 50 feet Maximum speed: 200 feet per second Blade Dancer (Passive): Increase Dexterity by 15% Increase Agility by 15% Increase ability with bladed weapons +5 Corrupted Blades: Corrupt any weapon to temporarily double its ability to penetrate (stacks with other effects) Mana Cost: 5 per second per blade Number of Corrupted Blades at one time: unlimited Range: Blades within 100 feet Rebirth of the Revenant (Passive): Heal up to 15% of max HP every time you kill. Looking at his Rebirth of the Revenants 15% max heal still made him somewhat bitter, but other than that, his lineup of skills were quite nice. They all pretty much complemented each other. His manipulation ability shouldn¡¯t have changed at all, but he still decided to check it all the same. He switched to the Manipulation tab in his Status. World Essence Manipulation: Maximum Mass: (1.78 + 1.05) 2.83 Form Control: (1.46 + 1.05) 2.51 Form Speed: (2.83 + 1.05) 3.88 Mana Manipulation: Maximum Mana: (2.5 x 1.10) 2.75 Form Control: (3.4 x 1.2) 4.08 Form Speed: (3.4 x 1.1) 3.74 Dante did a doubletake when reading the numbers. They weren¡¯t crazy high, but the world essence manipulation didn¡¯t make any sense. The last time he had checked it the numbers had been solitary. But this time there was a +1.05 to each. It was a massive gain. He thought back to the darker blue color of the world essence, then looked down to his glove. It was hard to tell if it was hurting him or helping him. There was just too much that he didn¡¯t know about it. Letting out a sigh, Dante closed his Status for the last time. It was time to kill the dungeon boss. Without doing that, escape would be impossible. Dante began walking to the corridor, which according to Arron should lead to the dungeon boss but stopped mid-step. Now that he had Blade Manipulation, there was actually a benefit to coming to a fight prepared. He began creating swords for a full 75 mana each, waiting until his mana to regenerate and forming one after the other, not stopping until he reached eleven swords. One sword would actually be used in the fight, but the other ten could be left in reserve. As long as he kept them within Blade Manipulation¡¯s range, they could be called forward at a moment¡¯s notice. Once done, Dante picked up the swords and began walking toward the final cavern. Chapter 53 Dante¡¯s Immortality - Chapter 53 Lugging the swords, Dante walked through the last corridor with a now dark blue mana manipulated light source following by his side. It seemed that the glove didn¡¯t just affect world essence. The corridor to the final cavern seemed to be far longer than all the others, but he wasn¡¯t complaining. He would have preferred not fighting the dungeon boss of a ¡®predatory dungeon¡¯ at all. There wasn¡¯t much time to consider the origins of a predatory dungeon while he was preoccupied with Jared and Arron, but the more he thought about it, the more frightening the implications became. If regular dungeons were just areas of dense world essence that were found by creatures, what did that mean for predatory dungeons? He was holding on to the hope that it was just discovered by a more aggressive creature, but it seemed unlikely. After walking almost twenty minutes down the corridor, he came upon the entrance to what was hopefully the last cavern. His mana manipulation light source could just barely penetrate into the darkness, showing the outline of a solitary figure in a large and empty chamber. Hesitant, but more than ready for the upcoming fight, Dante took a deep breath then stepped forward. As soon as the light crossed the threshold of the cavern and illuminated the chamber within he paused. It was agirl.The shoulder length black hair was a dead giveaway. He couldn¡¯t see her age, but she looked completely human. Still, he kept his guard up. He was in a dungeon, and a predatory one at that. No girl would just be wandering around in the last cavern. Throwing down his bundle of swords, Dante picked one up and began pumping it with world essence. The girl seemed to finally notice him when the swords clattered to the ground, and she turned. Mia¡­ ItwasMia¡­ or looked exactly like her. The sight of her was so unexpected that his concentration faltered and he had to Blink his sword away before it exploded in his hand. Her same raven black hair, the same beautiful features, and the same mature charm. Seeing her,alive,made all of the emotions that he had struggled to repress when he took off the wraith collar resurface. He had buried them so deeply. Any time he had even thought of Mia, he would distract himself with¡­anything.But that wasn¡¯t a possibility anymore, it was like he was confronting his inner demon.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. He knew itwasn¡¯tMia. It couldn¡¯t be, she was dead¡­ Something was toying with him. Mia glanced up and smiled at him. ¡°Hello, Dante.¡± It wasalmosta perfect copy... almost. She had the same demeanor, the same look, the same voice, but something was missing. Her reaction wasn¡¯t quite right, and for some reason, that made it even worse. It was like his memory of her was being corrupted. Dante reached down and picked up a new sword, his fist subconsciously tightening until his knuckles were white. His breathing had become uneven, and he was having a hard time focusing. Taking a few deep breaths, he tried to regain composure. Whoever, or whatever was responsible for this would pay. Dearly. Instead of attacking blindly, he decided to test the waters with his new Manipulate Blade skill. Stepping forward until he was within range, he lifted a sword out of the pile with his mind. Mia looked at the floating sword with genuine confusion. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Even if it wasn¡¯t really Mia, looking at her confused expression while he was about to attack her was heart-wrenching. I¡¯m sorry. He forced the sword forward. Hurling it at Mia with maximum speed and corrupting it just as it impaled the center of her chest. The scream that rang out was sickening. It was exactly how Mia had screamed when she was being leashed by Sir Andres. The sound of it, and the memories it brought up seemed to tear apart his soul. Penetrating through him and making him want to vomit. Just the thought that he had been the one to cause the scream was mentally incapacitating. Mia made no move to attack him, she just fell to her knees and clutched the handle of the sword that was buried in the center of her chest as she screamed. Blood seemed to gush out of the wound, but the screaming wasn¡¯t slowed in the slightest. Closing his eyes, and trying to block out the horrific scene in front of him, he mentally lifted two more swords from the pile and sent them speeding towards Mia. He had aimed one of the swords directly at her neck, trying to cut off the screams. But when they impacted, her screaming only grew louder and even more guttural. He couldn¡¯t take any more. The screaminghadto stop. He could feel the emotions that he had been holding back start to tear out from deep inside of himself despite his efforts to suppress them. The screaminghadto stop. Dante ran forward, charging across the cavern with a sword in hand. As soon as he got to her, he cut Mia¡¯s head from her defenseless body like he was some savage executioner. The act of actually slicing off Mia¡¯s head, even if it wasn¡¯t really her, seemed to hurt physically. He immediately turned to the side and retched up the bile that was in his stomach. There was no way that he would ever forget the scene in front of him, the way itfeltto actually kill Mia with his own hands. But it was finally over. Dante glanced down at her body, which caused him to retch even harder. Mia¡¯s face had the exact same slack look on her face when she truly had died. Thank the Goddess it¡¯s over¡­ Her corpse began to liquify, completely falling apart before seeping back into the ground. Dante fell to his knees, uncontrollable tears welling up in his eyes as he stared at the spot that she disappeared from. The regret that he felt was overwhelming. It felt he had just lost a part of himself, a part of his humanity. Killing Mia, even if it was just a copy, was by far the hardest thing he had ever done in his life. ¡°Why are you crying?¡± Dante spun around, the voice he heard thoroughly shaking him to his core. Standing there, with a smile on her face, was Mia. There wasn¡¯t a single scratch on her body. Chapter 54 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 54 Mia continued to stare at him with a smile on her face. He couldn¡¯t handle it; the entire situation was going to make him lose his mind. ¡°Whatare you?¡± Mia¡¯s head tilted to the side slightly in confusion. Then she pointed at herself. ¡°What are you talking about? It¡¯s me.¡± Then her smile widened as if the entire thing were some joke. She wasn¡¯t even trying to act like the real Mia anymore. Instead of answering her, he reached forward with his sword and cut off her head. He didn¡¯t even know what he was feeling anymore, the bombarding emotions were completely numbing. Instead of forcing his emotions back down, he was trying to shut himself off from them altogether, shut himself off from everything. Mia liquified again, but instead of melding into the ground, she merely reformed again. She was completely unfazed by his attack and rolled her eyes. ¡°For an archaic, you¡¯re somewhat emotional¡­¡± Mia gestured towards his bile, which was splattered on the floor. ¡°And here I thought that this would actually be difficult.¡± An archaic¡­? Mia snorted. ¡°You are actually far more emotionally unstable than most of my prey¡­ I almost wonder what you did to this poor girl that would make you so fragile.¡± She looked down at herself then shrugged. ¡°Bad luck always seems to follow your kind, but I suppose that it¡¯s for the best in this situation.¡± Mia smiled again, but it looked inhuman. ¡°You will be a spectacular treat actually, it has been quite some time since I¡¯ve had anything butregularhumans.¡± He didn¡¯t know whatitwas talking about, but the way it was using Mia¡¯s appearance as a puppet was nightmarish. Any control he had over himself or his frame of mind was slipping. He felt aneedto escape, escape from reality itself. ¡°Hmm, rather unstable, even without my influence you likely would have lost your mind eventually.¡± Mia stepped closer to him, and the mere act of her approach applied pressure to his mind until it felt like it was going to crack. ¡°Just relax. Let everything go and this will all be over.¡± She took another step, and they were now standing face to face, the pressure was so unbearable that he could feel his mind begin to splinter. It was like his mind was being strangled with so much force that it was going to shatter. ¡°I¡¯m not sure why you are still fighting the inevitable, just let it happen.¡± Mia whispered the last words to him as she reached up and touched his face. The world shattered. Nothing after that made sense. Thoughts became incoherent, they were something he grasped at, but ultimately slipped away. He could feel his body collapse against the ground as he lost control of it, but only moments later he didn¡¯t even know what the ground was. He laid there,somewhere, but he didn¡¯t know where. He didn¡¯t know what was happening, or even who he was. It was eerie, things were recalled, then vanished. Nothing was permanent¡­ and nothing mattered. Why would it? Even time seemed to stop altogether. Every passing thought was gone entirely, destroying any anchor he had in reality. Everything was meaningless. It only existed for a brief moment in his head, then was completely gone. Thoughts, feelings, emotions, even pain. It was all fleeting. But he was getting¡­weaker.It was the only thing that was constant aside from the emptiness. He could feel the energy draining out of him. Every breath he took was becoming weaker, like his life itself was being sucked out.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. That was when the attack came. Not from the outside, but from within. Something vicious was seizing everything as it slipped away. All of his fleeting thoughts, feelings, and emotions were being captured by it, then forcibly shot back into his mind and stuck together. The pain was maddening. It was like those returning thoughts were being shot into his mind like nails, then hammered down so they couldn¡¯t escape again. But with the abhorrent pain, came coherent thought. It was slow, and at first subtle. The thoughts stayed, but there was no connection between them. He could feel, but had no idea what it was he was feeling. He saw, but had no idea what he was seeing. The pain was no longer fleeting, but he didn¡¯t knowwhyhe was in pain, he had no understanding of it. Then the alien presence surrounded him. Wrapping his mind and compressing it, utterly unyielding as it retied the bonds between his thoughts. He began to resist subconsciously, unwilling to continue to experience the pain or the suffering that his emotions brought him. But no matter how hard he struggled, the indomitable will that radiated off of the presence was unyielding, it began to put him back together, piece by piece until he regained control over his mind and body again. Slowly, he regainedhimself. Dante¡¯s eyes snapped open, only to see Mia standing over him, mouth gaping as she inhaled a strange white mist from his body. His body itself was incredibly weak, and growing weaker each passing second. Every breath becoming more shallow, as if he was at death''s door. He acted on impulse. Throwing his gloved hand into Mia¡¯s face, causing her to elicit a raspy scream that was completely unlike the one earlier. Then, he Blinked across the chamber to where his swords were ready to be used and hurled three of them toward her with Manipulate Blade. Mia reacted to his attack instantaneously, turning toward where he Blinked, but otherwise unmoving as she took the three swords in stride. After liquifying, she reformed and frowned. ¡°What did you do?¡± Mia began to walk toward him, and he could feel the pressure squeeze down on the new barrier that surrounded his mind, but it was unyielding. Somehow his glove had saved him. Instead of consuming his thoughts and emotions like it usually did, it surrounded and reinforced them. Protecting him from whatever mental attack the dungeon boss was inflicting on him. It continuously sent more of its essence to strengthen and repair his mind. Dante took the brief respite of Mia slowly walking toward him to try and recover as best he could. His entire body felt like an enormous weight, just standing up after he Blinked across the room had him heaving shallow breaths. It didn¡¯t seem like he could take in enough air to sustain himself. ¡°That is a first, and somewhat interesting, but I would very much appreciate it if you didn¡¯t interrupt such a delicious meal.¡± Mia licked her lips in an overly exaggerated gesture. In answer, he threw yet another sword at her, catching Mia in the chest and causing her to reform. Her steps didn¡¯t even falter as she moved toward him. Surprisingly, he felt nothing from attacking the copy of Mia this time. All of his emotions were stabilized, causing him to think rationally. No, he was no longer unwilling to kill it, he was happy to do it. Happy to completely destroy someone who would tarnish the memory of someone who did so much to help him, whogaveupso much for him¡­ even if it was his fault that they did so. The problem was the dungeon boss itself, it didn¡¯t seem killable. It may have been possible if he completely destroyed it, maybe with some sort fire attack so that the dungeon boss could no longer reform. But every slice or cut seemed easily mendable. The only thing that seemed to have any real effect on it was his glove¡­ Throwing sword after sword at dungeon boss, he began to concentrate on the glove¡¯s presence, not allowing any of the new essence access to his mind and pushing it outward instead. The red mist began to coalesce around him, drifting slowly back down to reenter his glove, but he didn¡¯t allow it. He began throwing loose mana out around his glove, manipulating it gently to stop the gloves essence from seeping back in. By the time he was done, his hand was shrouded in blood red mist. Mia was only a few feet away, every step she took forced more pressure down onto his mind¡¯s weakening barrier, and instead of waiting for her, he made his move. He threw yet another sword at her, causing her to reform. Then, just as she appeared, he Blinked in front of her, not giving the dungeon boss any time to react and shoving his glove with the red essence into her face. The two of them screamed together. Mia from the power of his gloves essence, and him from the pressure she exuded. As soon as he Blinked to her, the barrier that had been protecting him began to crack, sending stabs of pressure inside to his barely mended mind. The pain made him want to shut down, but he resisted. Using what was left of his willpower he pulled all of the swords in the room toward Mia, corrupting them just as they impaled her. As soon as the swords slammed into the dungeon bosses body, the screaming stopped, and the pressure in his mind abated. No longer able to function, Dante fell unconscious. Chapter 55 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 55 When he woke back up, the massive migraine made him want to knock himself back out. But he didn¡¯t know how to do it without touching his sensitive head, so he laid down for a few hours, eyes closed while trying to endure his throbbing headache. The gloves essence was still wrapped around his mind, not invading it, but reinforcing and repairing it. He wasn¡¯t sure how he felt about something so potentially dangerous beinginsidehis mind, but the mere thought of tearing it out sent a shiver down his spine. He was completely unwilling to make his headache any worse. After several hours, the throbbing pain started to lessen, allowing him to focus his attention outward, if only slightly. The first thing he heard was the raspy breathing. Initially, he thought that it was his own, but the breaths were far too deep. His were still shallow, whatever energy thatthinghad sucked out of his body hadn¡¯t seemed to return. Now fully alert with the knowledge that he wasn¡¯t the only one still alive, he tried to sit up. Fighting through the horrendous pain that seemed to stab into his head, Dante slowly forced himself off the ground until he was sitting up. Laying down on the floor across from him was a something that looked almost human, but was fiendish. Like the monsters that Arron and Jared were fighting it had pale skin and no hair, but based on the raspy wheezing sound it was making, he never would have thought it to be human. The thing was conscious, and glaring at him with hate-filled eyes. Still, it couldn¡¯t do anything. It seemed to barely be alive with seven of his swords sticking out of its body at jagged angles. The sight made him happy. Thrilled even. He had said that he would make whatever this thing was pay dearly, and it was time to collect. He struggled to do it, but after a few seconds, he was able to use his Create Blade skill to make a new dagger. Then he slowly dragged himself across the floor, eliminating any distance that was between him and the dungeon boss. The thing began to struggle on the ground, trying to get away from him, but it was utterly defenseless. ¡°Stop¡­¡± Its voice was so weak and raspy that it came out in a harsh whisper. It seemed that whatever power that allowed it to break down and reform was now gone. He paid the monster no attention, and finally making it over to its entrapped body, he corrupted the dagger and began slicing into the dungeon boss carefully. Killing it, but slowly. He made a few shocking discoveries while he worked. The first, and most significant discovery, was the two Classification symbols on the dungeon boss¡¯ wrist. Itwashuman. At least before it found the dungeon. Using his prior knowledge, he could now be quite certain at how predatory dungeons were made in contrast to regular dungeons. It was, however, impossible for him to absorb those Classifications, no matter how much blood he covered his glove in. The second discovery he made was his distaste for needlessly inflicting harm on others¡­ even if it deserved it. At first, cutting the dungeon boss was almost calming. It felt good to take out his feelings on someone else, all of his pent-up emotions and frustrations finally finding some release. But after a few cuts, the quiet, raspy screams that were coming from the dungeon boss were making him queasy. Steeling his resolve, Dante plunged the dagger into the dungeon boss¡¯s heart. He wanted to inflict some permanent harm upon it, but it seemed impossible given the nature of dungeons. Its expression went slack, but before the boss died it almost looked grateful. Thankful that the suffering had finally ended. The dungeon boss¡¯s body broke apart, turning into dust before being absorbed by the dungeon floor. The only thing that was left in its place was the swords that had impaled the boss andtwocrystals. One blue, and the other purple. Confused, yet elated, he reached over to pick the two up. Then immediately checked his Monster Crystal tab.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Skill Infused: None Passive Skill Infused: None Passive Skill Infused: None Attribute Crystal Infused: None Attribute Crystal Infused: None Monster Crystals that can be Infused: Passive Skill: Oppressive Will Force your will outwards to oppress those around you. Strength dependent on the difference in Wisdom between user and targets. Cost: 5 Mana per second Range: dependent on total Wisdom Attribute Crystal: Wisdom Gives +7 to the Wisdom attribute. He was having a hard time controlling his breathing, which was a problem. The shallow breaths he was taking no longer seemed to be enough to sustain himself. He pushed off the floor with his arms, rolling onto his back to try and take larger breaths. He couldn¡¯t get over the shock of receivingtwocrystals. It now made complete sense why Jared and Arron were so quick to come to blows at the slight chance of fighting the dungeon boss. But he couldn¡¯t understandwhyhe would get two. After thinking it over for a moment, there only seemed to be two possibilities. The first possibility was that predatory dungeons innately gave two monster crystals. The second was that he was given one crystal for each Classification that the dungeon boss had. Either way, he wouldn¡¯t complain. Looking back at the crystal¡¯s effects themselves, he scrutinized the passive skill. It seemed¡­ vague. No real effect was detailed in the skill. It might have been something similar to the power the boss used against him, or it could have done something else altogether. But the lack of information was troubling. Skill descriptions always seemed to be vague, every skill he had seemed to havesomeunforeseen issues. The fact that this one was even more vague didn¡¯t sit well with him. Not only that, but if he broke it he could likely specialize one of his Classifications. But it was at least worth testing before he made any rash decisions. He already knew from some information he gathered at the academy that he could easily remove the crystals if he wanted to. The other crystal was far more straightforward. As far as he was concerned, the Wisdom attribute gain was by far the best attribute crystal he could get, and it fit the new skill he got perfectly. But there was a seemingly indestructible obstacle in his path. He didn¡¯t see how he was supposed to press the crystal into his wrist with his glove in the way. Having nothing to lose, Dante grabbed the purple crystal and pushed it against his glove, right where the symbol of the dragon wrapped around the bottom of his wrist. It was strange, as the crystal was pressed into it, the threads of the glove itself opened up and pulled the crystal in. There was a sharp pain like his wrist was being slit, but it wasn¡¯t too bad. As soon as the crystal got deep enough inside of his skin, the gloves threads went back to their previous positions as though nothing had happened at all. The process seemed simple enough, even though he still didn¡¯t know how to remove the crystals, and he immediately repeated the process with the other. When that was done, he reopened the Monster Crystal tab in his Status. Skill Infused: Oppressive Will Passive Skill Infused: None Passive Skill Infused: None Attribute Crystal Infused: Wisdom +7 Attribute Crystal Infused: None After making sure that his monster crystals were used correctly, he checked his Wisdom attribute. He now had a total of 41 Wisdom, giving him 4.1 Mana per second. That done, he closed his Status and began testing out his new passive skill. It was a strange sensation. All of his other skills seemed like a part of him. Something innate that he justknewhow to activate, but the new skill was entirely different. No matter how much he tried to focus, he couldn¡¯t find a way to activate the passive skill at all. He thought it over for a moment. Then, on a whim, he began feeding world essence into the purple crystal that was lodged underneath his glove. It worked, he could feel the mana draining out of him, and then he felt hiswillspreading out around forty feet in every direction, getting weaker the further it spread. Testing done, he stopped channeling the mana and deactivated it, still having no idea what the skill really did. Getting stuck in the predatory dungeon had somehow gone from being a miserable situation to a massive overall benefit. Dante laid there for a moment, in a completely empty cavern that was barely lit by a mana manipulated light. The mixture of the migraine and his exhaustion, which seemed eerily similar to the effects of his Rebirth of the Revenant passive, gave him the desire to just sit and wait for the pain to abate. But that wasn¡¯t really an option. Someone would eventually find him if he waited. Even if he were hidden from Trackers, Jared and Arron¡¯s corpses wouldn¡¯t be when they were found missing. Breaking up the swords that were scattered through the cavern, Dante began to slowly crawl through the corpse-filled dungeon. Spending the slow journey pondering the implications of the dungeon boss¡¯s words, and what an archaic might be. Chapter 56 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 56 Varik Varik quickly finished packing his essential belongings, then picked up his bag and hobbled through his bedroom doorway on his bad leg. It was time to finally leave House Ailloss. Not that he was supposed to, he had actually been ordered to stay until the trap had been sprung, but things were getting messy. Agents were justdisappearing. There weren¡¯t even any bodies being found. One day he would get a report, and then the next there would be complete silence. Varik handed the travel bag to his handler, and the two of them made their way to the waiting carriage. He had his escape planned for years. Thousands of random trips at differing times, all in preparation for this moment. No suspicion would be raised at the sight of him taking a trip with his mid-sized travel bag. No one would even bat an eyelash. ¡°My lord, new orders have been sent.¡± His handler handed him an encoded letter, and he read over it carefully. Cursing, Varik handed the letter back to Rikard, and the man incinerated it immediately. His ¡®new orders¡¯ from Andrea was a demand to not make a move and potentially arouse suspicion with his escape, exactly the same as his last orders. But at this point, that was practically a death sentence. Even without his agent¡¯s disappearances, it was only a matter of time until Sam returned and told Edward what he had done. Either way, it seemed he was completely screwed. Still, there was no way he could stay in House Ailloss. Despite Edward¡¯s seeming obliviousness and good nature, the man was dangerously cunning and vicious when dealing with his enemies. His best course of action was to follow through with the escape. He had been far too useful to House Calman over the years, and even if his rewards deteriorated, it was unlikely that they would dispose of him entirely. Letting out a small sigh, he followed Rikard and limped out to the courtyard. ¡°Varik!¡± Hearing the voice, he cursed internally. Edward was the last person he wanted to run into, especially now of all times. He turned toward the voice. ¡°How can I help you, my lord.¡± Edward had his usual cocky grin on his face and was holding one of his sparring swords. The brute always seemed to have a weapon within reach. ¡°Just the man I was looking for, I need you to send a message to Damian immediately.¡± Edward paused as if just noticing the bag and his head tilted slightly. ¡°Are you going somewhere?¡± Varik looked at Edward without any trace of emotion on his face. ¡°I would be more than happy to my lord, I¡¯ll have it taken care of immediately. And yes, I am going to meet one of my agents. The report he has is far too sensitive to allow someone else to handle.¡± Edward¡¯s eyebrows rose. ¡°You employ agents that don¡¯t have your trust?¡± Varik didn¡¯t visibly react to the information, but the question took him off-guard. It wasn¡¯t the sort of topic he wanted to delve into at the moment. ¡°Of course not, my lord. Even though I would like to see the best in others, loyalty is too often traded for self-gain in this world.¡± He was cursing himself for the words that were coming out of his mouth, but now wasnotthe time to change his personality. Edward scratched his chin for a moment, thinking his words over carefully, then nodded. ¡°I think that you may be right.¡± His smile came back. ¡°It¡¯s one of the reasons that I like to get to know those who work for me, it gives me a good feel for those who might defect.¡± Varik gave a nod in agreement to Edward¡¯s words. ¡°If that is all that you needed my lord, I¡¯ll be off.¡± Edward gave a dismissive wave of his hand, and Varik had to stop himself from sighing in relief. For a moment he thought that Edward knew that he was a traitor, but that didn¡¯t seem to be the case. It was just one more indication that his choice to work for House Calman all those years ago was the right one. Edward was just too oblivious, never even realizing what a threat House Calman really was. He had no intention of going down with Edward and the rest of House Ailloss. Limping behind Rikard, he made his way to the carriage. Almost making it when he felt severe pain in his back. Varik looked down, and saw the sword sticking out through his stomach. The amount of blood that was spraying out to the floor was frightening. It was, without a doubt, a killing blow.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Varik took it calmly, not struggling in the slightest. He always knew that this outcome was a possibility when he turned traitor. ¡°You stabbed me in the back, it¡¯s only right if I return the favor.¡± Edward¡¯s voice carried the same savagery that it had the night he found his son¡¯s corpse. All things considered, he was more than happy to have a quick death. He heard a grunt coming from where Rikard was standing, and Varik looked up from the sword that was sticking through his chest to see a combatant he had never met before cutting his handler in two. Still, the man did look familiar¡­ Yes, he had seen him before. His portrait had been inside of a report, an academy instructor that went missing in action after chasing that boy, Archie was his name. Varik smiled grimly. It was evident that Edward had found out what had really happened at the academy. He could feel himself getting weaker as more blood drained from his wound. To think that all of my plans fell through because one rogue instructor. The world faded into darkness.
Edward Ailloss ¡°What do you want to do now?¡± Edward turned to Arthur. His earlier smile now gone, in its place was cold rage. ¡°We will need to evacuate immediately. Varik would have been found out when Sam returned, so it is somewhat likely that they had a plan in place that will be executed before that. I doubt they would have left Varik alive, much less allow him to simply flee when he should have still been useful.¡± He glanced back to Varik¡¯s corpse, clenching his teeth in anger. If he weren¡¯t in a rush, the traitor¡¯s death would have beenmuchslower. Arthur¡¯s usual smile didn¡¯t disappear despite the tense atmosphere, it seemed that his personality hadn¡¯t changed in the years they had been apart. ¡°My thoughts exactly. Damian has already begun to send supplies to Devil¡¯s Edge in preparation for the war.¡± Edward¡¯s eyebrows rose. If Damian was focusing on Devil¡¯s Edge, the war was going to be far more drawn out than he had originally thought. Varik had hidden far too much from him. ¡°I¡¯ll begin to collect all of my loyal combatants and lead them to Devil¡¯s Edge¡­ but I have something I need to take care of first.¡± One of Arthur¡¯s eyebrows quirked up. ¡°Oh? And what might that be?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you know already, I can¡¯t let Dante stay collared.¡± He gave Arthur an apologetic glance. ¡°I need to find him while there is still a trail to follow.¡± Arthur rolled his eyes. ¡°Stop being so dramatic. He is already free, and by now, well on his way to the Wastelands.¡± Edward spun to face Arthur. ¡°Are you sure.¡± Arthur¡¯s grin broadened. ¡°Saw him off myself, while I was still playing the part of ''Archie''.¡± Edward let out a large breath of relief. The news did wonders for his mood. ¡°Why would he want to go to the Wastelands though? Without joining a faction, he will be dead within a week.¡± Arthur shrugged. ¡°I prodded him in that direction.¡± He saw Edward¡¯s glare and put his hands up in mock surrender. ¡°Damian¡¯s orders. Do you really think it would be safer for him to stay here and get involved in a war?¡± Edward could feel his irritation surging. ¡°We could have easily protected him. Not only that, but if we pulled our resources together to strengthen him, he likely would have won us the war.¡± Arthur snorted. ¡°Stop being such a prick , he¡¯s just an inexperienced kid. Besides, it¡¯s not like we would send him to the Wastelands unprotected, Damian sent Victoria to look after him. She¡¯ll step in if he is going to die¡­ hopefully.¡± He cleared his throat. ¡°And with her help, he¡¯ll grow up in no time.¡± Edward¡¯s eyes widened, there was no question of which Victoria he was talking about. ¡°What, in the name of the Goddess, did Damian do to have Victoria owe him a favorthatbig.¡± Arthur shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but he went all out this time.¡± Edward nodded, no matter which way he looked at it, there was no downside to Victoria taking care of Dante in the Wastelands. ¡°What is the guild going to do while she¡¯s gone?¡± Arthur shrugged. ¡°How should I know. If we arelucky,they will disband.¡± He couldn¡¯t help but agree, the world would be a much better place without those damned assassins.
Andrea Calman Vicar burst through the door. Not only did he not knock, but his face was pale and he looked flustered. Andrea continued to tab through her reports as though nothing happened. ¡°Do come in Vicar.¡± ¡°I¡¯m terribly sorry, my lady. I haveseriousnews that I thought you would want to hear immediately.¡± That got her attention, having her plans ruined always put her in a rather foul mood. ¡°Go on.¡± Vicar only seemed to become more nervous. ¡°It seems like House Ailloss somehow discovered our trap. Not only have we lost Varik, but their entire countryside has already been mobilized. Farms are being stripped of food and supplies to be shipped off with combatants towards Devil¡¯s Edge.¡± Andrea¡¯s fists involuntarily tightened, crumpling the report that was in her hand. Her plans hadn¡¯t been ruined, they had been utterly destroyed. Her agents weren¡¯t yet in place to deal with House Ailloss, and a war at Devil¡¯s Edge would turn into one of attrition. ¡°When did this happen?¡± Beads of cold sweat could be seen on Vicar¡¯s forehead. ¡°I just received the news, but it seems as though there had been days of preparation. The evacuation itself didn¡¯t start until earlier this morning though.¡± Andrea rubbed the bridge of her nose. If it weren¡¯t for the damn campaign, the situation might have been somewhat redeemable. ¡°Recallallspecialized units aside from any infiltration groups. Send those out to ravage their supply lines. Get as many agents as you can inside of Terra, it doesn¡¯t matter how many we lose in the process.¡± She drummed her fingers against her desk thinking about her options carefully. ¡°And begin to empty out all of the camps.¡± Utilizing the camps as reinforcements was a severe risk, but a necessary one. They had collared quite a few skilled combatants over the years, but too few of them had been properly broken in. Some of the stronger willed ones wouldn¡¯t let pain deter them from turning on their captors if given a chance. But without them they had almost no chance. ¡°Charles will lead the troops themselves, but come to me for orders.¡± Her largest criteria in choosing a husband was the ability to lead in battle, and Charles was second to none. With him handling the frontlines, and her managing the internal affairs, they would almost be unbeatable. Chapter 57 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 57 Dante hesitated as he watched the detection enchantments light up in front of him. They ran through the walkway in hundreds of faded lines, lighting up bright blue at random intervals as an operator fed world essence into them from one of the random outposts scattered periodically throughout the border. Then he looked down at the enchanted boots that Archie had given him. He had serious misgivings about placing blind trust in the enchanted boots, but in the almost month-long journey to the border, he hadn¡¯t found a single detection enchantment to test them on. And for good reason. After crawling out of the predatory dungeon, and through several miles of dense underbrush after that, he had opted to stay away from civilization altogether. Not only did he take an out of the way path to the border, delaying his journey by several days, but every time he even heard a twig snap he would Blink into the nearest tree immediately. Thankfully, there were no pursuers. He wasn¡¯t sure what had happened, he was almost certain that after the incident with Jared and Arron that there would be others. They were nothing like any of the other combatants that he had met, both of them had two monster crystals, and the two of them were beingwastedon guard duty outside of Grimspeak. Still, he wouldn¡¯t complain about finally having a turn of good luck. Taking a deep breath, and a step forward, he patiently waited for the enchantment lines to run under his feet. It only took a few seconds before one activated, his boots lit up, but other than that nothing happened. He immediately let out a breath of relief. Based on what he knew from his enchantment class, he was in the clear. When a long-range detection enchantment was activated, the area that was activated would usually activate all of the nearby enchantments. Allowing the operators who were watching it to triangulate his position and send out a mounted party to his location. This kind of enchanted defense was the only thing that was feasible along the border wall, it was far too long to patrol regularly. After confirming that the boots worked, Dante slowly made his way toward the far side of the wall. The border wall itself was a monstrosity. From a distance, it just looked like a massive flat mountain that stretched further than the eye could see. It had taken him over thirty minutes to climb the stairs that led to the top of the wall, which must have been a few hundred feet in the air. And now that he had finally gotten to the top, he could see that it was around fifty feet across. He was having a hard time understanding how long such a thing could have taken to build, even with geomancers. Grimspeak was almost minuscule in comparison if the total length of the wall was taken into consideration, and that was without even factoring in the enchantments than ran through its entirety. The further across he walked, the more of the view he could see on the other side of the border, and the more enamored he became. The expanse of land in view was massive from the height of the wall, and far more open than any he had ever seen. Even though there a few mountains peaking up in the far distance and a few patches of small forests, it was entirely flat.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Of course, the lack of landforms had a few downsides. There didn¡¯t seem to be any suitable cover within a hundred miles of the wall, but that was unlikely to be a problem with the lack of active patrols. As he got to the edge of the wall, he found another problem. There was no staircase to get down¡­ It seemed like whoever built it was only worried about access from one side, which wasn¡¯t at all a surprise, but he had still held out hope for an easy descent. Dante looked down the side. There was no way he could just Blink down, it was far too large of a drop. Thankfully, he had done some testing over the last few days with his Manipulate Blade skill, making the long fall almost a nonexistent obstacle. He took a few minutes to create six swords and wait for his mana to recharge. After that, Dante uttered a prayer, then a curse, and then he jumped off of the wall with the swords held to his chest.
Victoria Nix Victoria stood atop the wall and watched the boy drop with fingers crossed. She had found a loophole in her agreement with Damian; she didn¡¯t need actually protect him until he got into the Wastelands. So,if he died before that, it wasn¡¯t her problem. There were so many opportunities on the way to the border, so many near misses, but somehow, he barely managed to survive every dangerous situation he got himself in. And now, after being incredibly careful for almost a month, he was going to solve all of her problems. Nothing made her happier than watching him try and kill himself. But her excitement quickly turned to resignation as his fall began to slow toward the bottom. He began to decelerate, almost coming to a complete stop, and then touching the ground gently. Victoria massaged her temples as she let out a sigh. She knew that slowing the fall with his skill was a possibility, but hadn¡¯t thought that it would actually work. She could feel a headache coming on. Victoria spun around, feeling a presence behind her. Tobias seemed to materialize into existence, hands held up in surrender. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, did I surprise you?¡± Begrudgingly, she had to admit that he had surprised her. Tobias was getting good, too good. He would need to be eliminated soon. Victoria looked at him expressionlessly. ¡°What do you want?¡± Tobias just shrugged and walked to the edge of the wall, staring down at her new ¡®project¡¯. ¡°Why don¡¯t I just kill him for you? It would only take me a second... and no one will know.¡± Victoria considered it for a moment. If she let him do it, it would be an easy way to solve two problems. Not only would it keep her from wasting so much time on someone who was barely more than a child, but it would also give her a good excuse to kill Tobias. It was too bad. Even though that would have worked out well, she already promised Damian¡­ and shedidowe him. ¡°Go away.¡± Tobias just shrugged again, then flashed Victoria a charming smile. ¡°And who will be guild leader while you are gone, oh great leader?¡± Victoria¡¯s fingers twitched slightly toward her dagger, she really wanted to kill him. ¡°No one, cease all operations until further notice. We can¡¯t afford to get dragged into a war when the victor is still undecided.¡± She glanced back to check his reaction. In a normal situation, he should have been made interim guild leader as the highest-ranking member of the guild aside from her. Tobias¡¯ smile didn¡¯t change as he stared into her eyes. He had the look of a predator that was ready to strike, and this time she did draw her dagger. After another few seconds of staring her in the eye, Tobias glanced down at her drawn dagger and turned to leave. ¡°As you command.¡± He didn¡¯t wait for her to dismiss him and instantly vanished by utilizing his stealth skill. Victoria continued to stare in the direction Tobias vanished from, but after debating it for a moment, she decided not to kill him. She looked back over the edge toward her newassignment.Watching the boy try tosneakacross a completely open plain was giving her a headache. How am I supposed to teach him how to ¡®survive on his own¡¯? Not only was the assignment completely vague, but he also seemed like a hopeless case. Schedule Update Ive been hinting in the prechapter notes of the last few chapters that ill be going through and editing everything so my story isnt as bad xD... its time What this means for new chapters - chapters are going to slow down to at least two new chapters per week (may do more, but depends on how editing is going)Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. How long is it going to take? - hopefully like... 1-2 weeks xD but ill just say a month max How will you know when the edit will be finished? - ill be posting updates periodically in the author notes of this chapter as the edit progresses Have something you think needs to be fixed in the story? - post a comment on this ''chapter'' Chapter 58 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 58 ¡°Get up.¡± The voice was so unexpected that Dante jerked awake, only to be stopped by something pressing on his back and keeping him from sitting up. He had only been in the Wastelands for one day, and somehow, he had already been discovered in his sleep. Trying to take his attacker by surprise, Dante blinked behind the person holding him as he created a blade in his hand. Then, without pausing, he swung down on his attacker. That was all he had time to do before he felt an impact on the side of his head and his body went slack.
Something repulsive seemed to attack him through his nose, causing him to instantly be wide awake. Dante shot up, or tried to. This time he was fully restrained by some kind of rope, even his hands were tied open so that he couldn¡¯t hold a weapon and attempt to cut himself free. Trying to escape, Dante Blinked. He was careful to keep the mana he fed into the skill away from the rope that was restraining him, but it seemed to absorb the skill¡¯s mana like the rope was hungry for it. When he finished the Blink, he was several feet away from his original location, but still restrained. ¡°Finished?¡± Dante glanced up to his captor. And was surprised to see a woman who appeared to be in her late twenties standing over him with her arms crossed. She looked somewhat average with her dark hair and angular face, but there was a strange predatory grace that seemed to radiate from her posture. He found it to be disconcerting. Of course, her gender, age, and appearance weren¡¯t what surprised him. What surprised him was that she seemed irritated. Something that he couldn¡¯t understand given their current circumstance and the roles they played. The two of them stared at each other for a moment, he couldn¡¯t see any indication of whether or not she was working for House Calman by her uniform, and it seemed like things wouldn¡¯t progress until he gave her a satisfactory answer. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m finished.¡± The grim humor seemed to roll right off of her. The woman released a sigh, then stoppered a vial that was in one of her hands. ¡°Then I suppose I won¡¯t be needing this again.¡± The vial likely contained the revolting odor that had awoken him, and he was more than happy that she put it away. Not only did it mean that she wouldn¡¯t knock him out again¡­ hopefully, but it also meant that he wouldn¡¯t experience that abhorrent smell for a second time. ¡°Let¡¯s get the introductions out of the way. My name is Victoria Nix, and you are now my apprentice.¡± Dante stared at her blankly. He knew that the Wastelands would be different from the noble territory, but things couldn¡¯t be this different. He was having a hard time comprehending the hidden meaning that he assumed was behind her words while Victoria knelt by his side and began untying the ropes. ¡°I¡¯ll set you free, but if you teleport again, I will knock you out.¡± As soon as Victoria untied the ropes, Dante rolled backward and stood to his feet, watching her warily. Other than that, he didn¡¯t struggle, there was no reason to. He had already been captured and had been completely at her mercy. Besides, judging by her earlier speed, running would be pointless. Dante took a deep breath to collect himself, the entire situation seemed absurd. But he decided that being polite to the woman who could potentially kill him would be for the best. Still, he was unsure of how she would react to the question he wanted to ask. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, why would you want me to be your apprentice?¡± Victoria snorted. ¡°I don¡¯t. Trust me. Let¡¯s go, it¡¯s a long journey to our destination.¡± Victoria spun on her heels and began moving away with an otherworldly grace. Even though she was just walking, he had never seen anyone, or anything, that moved so skillfully. Her movement could almost be described as feline, but that didn¡¯t do it justice.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Dante cleared his throat. ¡°Could you at least tell me why?¡± Victoria glanced back. ¡°You are my apprentice because someone who doesn¡¯t want you to die called in a favor.¡± She paused, waiting for him to move, and her body language indicated that she was ready to force him if necessary. He was unsure of whether or not he should follow. But his hesitation seemed redundant, it wasn¡¯t as though she was giving him an option. Letting out a sigh, he followed after Victoria. He didn¡¯t stop thinking about the implications of her words though.
As soon as the smell hit his nose, Dante Blinked away from it and took large, heaving breaths to try and clear his lungs. He looked back to Victoria, who was kneeling down where he had passed out, the evil vial unstoppered in her hand. Dante let out a whimper, there was no escape. He couldn¡¯t even pass out from the exhaustion without immediately being woken up. Victoria rolled her eyes, and he could tell that the lack of sleep was even beginning to affect her. ¡°Calm down, we are almost there.¡± Her words did absolutely nothing to calm him down, she had said the same thing almost every day for the last week, but they were still walking. ¡°Yes, master.¡± The formal address that Victoria insisted on still felt unnatural¡­ and unpleasant. Victoria stood and nodded, then began walking again. He stumbled after his quiet ¡®master¡¯. The two weeks that he had spent traveling with her had been completely torturous. Apparently, Victoria didn¡¯t know the meaning of the word rest. They walked both day and night, only stopping for infrequent half hour naps when Victoria allowed it. The pace was maddening, and he was more than thankful for the lack of conversation as the exhaustion set in. Even hunting for food would have been a nice distraction, an opportunity for them to at least rest while they stalked prey, but the hawk that Victoria was bonded to was too efficient. They received more than enough raw meat to sustain themselves from its frequent hunts. The only bright side to their brutal pace, was the amount of distance they covered each day. He was the one who set the pace, and he didn¡¯t slack off in the slightest. On the contrary, he was eager to have this death march over with, so he pushed himself as hard as he possibly could.
Victoria Nix There was a lack of movement behind her, and Victoria glanced back at the boy. He had finally passed out again. Thank the Goddess¡­ Victoria released a yawn, something that she refused to do under the gaze of her new student. At first, she had been more than reluctant to take some stray as her new apprentice, despite his rare and numerous Classifications, but Dante was performing well above her expectations. Begrudgingly, she had to admit that he was performing even better than she had when she was tested for the guild. The ¡®eternal march¡¯ was the initial test that all new apprentices had to take before they were accepted into the guild. It was the best indicator for a new assassin¡¯s resolve. Usually, failure to reach the destination in the given time limit resulted in death, which was something that she couldn¡¯t have done with the boy, but she had still enacted the test to get a baseline for his mental fortitude. They were already days ahead of schedule, even after she accounted for his Agility. She had planned on only doing the march for a week, which was around the average length of the regular test, but to her surprise the boy hadn¡¯t broken down. Now she just wanted to see if he could make it all the way to the Dead Man¡¯s range without stopping. She was no longer reluctant to train a new apprentice, she was now anticipating it. A feeling that she hadn¡¯t had for years. She was eager to see how far she could push him. Calling back Shadow, Victoria walked over to Dante¡¯s unconscious body and sat down next to it. An hour of rest every time he passed out was just enough to keep him on the edge of exhaustion. It wasn¡¯t like she couldn¡¯t use the sleep as well, even if she didn¡¯t show the signs of being tired, she was close to passing out herself. This eternal march was testing her limits. Shadow¡¯s dark silhouette flew in as he landed on her shoulder, the black nighthawk was alert and ready to keep guard while she slept.
Dante rubbed his eyes as he took in the scene in front of him. You have got to be fucking kidding me¡­ He turned to look back at Victoria. ¡°This is a joke, right?¡± Victoria shook her head, and any of the satisfaction he may have gotten from no longer having to walk was utterly destroyed by their ¡®destination¡¯. Sure, the mountain range was large, far larger than the others they had passed, but it was still just a mountain range. There was absolutely no reason to rush to a mountain range. ¡°Why did we need to make it here in three weeks?¡± Victoria shrugged. ¡°We didn¡¯t.¡± He started to laugh lightly, but it somehow turned into a pathetic whimper. It had all been pointless. Completely pointless. Three weeks with almost no sleep and he was delirious to the point that nothing made sense, but this was over the top. He couldn¡¯t comprehend it at all. Victoria walked over to a tree and sat against it. ¡°Get some rest, your training starts tomorrow.¡± For the first time since he started following Victoria, he truly considered trying to flee. Dante glanced to the black hawk that was standing guard on Victoria¡¯s shoulder, and it stared back at him with intelligent eyes. Dante slumped to the ground, he didn¡¯t have the energy to try and run. Chapter 59 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 59 ¡°Alright, you¡¯ve slept enough.¡± He felt a slight prod and instantly shot up. As soon as he got to his feet, Dante glanced over to Victoria, who had just lightly kicked him with her foot, and praised the Goddess. She hadn¡¯t used that abhorrent vial to wake him up, and for that, he would be eternally grateful. He had already been thoroughly traumatized by its smell. Victoria looked him over for a moment, likely assessing his condition after three weeks of exhaustion. ¡°We are already going to have a late start today, so let¡¯s not waste time.¡± Dante glanced up at the sun as he stretched his incredibly stiff muscles out. It was already around noon, meaning that he had slept for almost an entire day. ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡± He was quite surprised that she had allowed him to sleep for so long, especially after such a hellish journey. Victoria nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll start with the first sequence of the Spectral Attunement.¡± That name sounded¡­ ominous. ¡°The Spectral Attunement is my guilds specialty. It is mainly used to fully stretch out the body and increase flexibility, as well as maintain the body physically. Other than strengthening the body, its secondary purpose is to teach the footwork required to work for the guild.¡± Stretching out the body or just getting physical exercise was understandable, but he didn¡¯t see why the thing she was talking about would be necessary to learn footwork, no matter how delicate. It also raised the question of what kind of guild Victoria was actually a part of. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t footwork depend on the total amount of Dexterity you have, why would you need to learn the Spectral Attunement first?¡± Victoria shrugged. ¡°Dexterity may give you more control over your body, but some things need to be learned, and practiced. It will be easier for you to get an idea if I show you. Watch closely, the first sequence is made up of twenty poses in total.¡± Victoria took a step back, then got into a low stance. After that, she began to move, and he was completely dumbfounded as he watched her. Every movement was unbearably slow and precise, almost as though the air around Victoria was a solid mass that she was forcing herself through. She was twisting her body in ways that sent a shiver down his spine. Contorting herself into impossible poses, then holding them for several seconds before moving to the next. Some moments were beautiful, but only briefly. When Victoria finally got to a pose, and held it, he would wince. It was like an incredibly graceful dance that ended in sick torture. Victoria came to a stop after going through all twenty poses, taking her a full five minutes. Then she turned to him. ¡°Ready to try?¡± There was no way he was ¡®ready to try¡¯. Clearing his throat, he did his best to sound reasonable. ¡°I don¡¯t think that is going to help me with my footwork.¡± There was no footwork involved in what she had just done at all. It was more like a sequence of extreme stretches rather than any kind of footwork practice. The only thing he would get out of trying to replicate what she did is dislocated joints. Victoria rolled her eyes. ¡°The first sequence is just to prepare your body for the other four sequences. Without being able to complete it, you would sustain damage from the other, more advanced sequences.¡± More advanced sequences¡­ fuck. Seeing the look on his face, Victoria continued. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the first sequence will take you a few months to complete. Today you are only going to learn the first pose. Watch closely, and try to do as I do.¡± Victoria got into her low stance, and he followed her example despite his reservations. She began to move, and even though he had nowhere near her grace, he was able to follow her example in a way that he hoped was somewhat close to what was intended. Victoria¡¯s leg slowly lifted above her head, somehow keeping it perfectly straight in the process. Gritting his teeth, he followed suit. He kept his leg completely straight as he slowly lifted it, making it slightly over the height of his head before he heard a loud pop. Groaning, Dante toppled to the floor, clutching his thigh. Not even halfway to the first pose, and he was already down. Victoria walked over and silently stretched out his leg, then pulled him up and began the process over. Letting out a sigh, he resumed learning the first pose.
¡°That¡¯s enough of the Spectral Attunement for the day.¡± Hearing her words, he collapsed to the ground in relief. Not only was he completely drenched in sweat, but his leg muscles felt like they were torn apart from attempting to achieve the first pose. Victoria, who wasn¡¯t tired in the slightest, held out her hand toward him. At first, he wasn¡¯t sure what she was doing, but then he saw the tiny pill in her hand. ¡°Swallow this.¡± Taking the pill, he examined it closely. He had seen medicine before, but he had never had the opportunity to consume one. Still, he didn¡¯t eat it. He didn¡¯t trust Victoria nearly enough. Victoria rolled her eyes, then disappeared before his eyes, reappearing with a dagger held to his throat. ¡°Paranoia will keep you alive, but do not allow it to needlessly hinder you. If I was going to kill you, I would have done it already.¡±The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. He recoiled from the cold steel that rested against his throat. Victoria had taken him completely off-guard, and if there hadn¡¯t been a small window of time between when she disappeared and reappeared, he would have thought she had used a skill that was similar to Blink. Strangely enough, his helplessness in the situation was actually somewhat reassuring. And just further proof that Victoria wasn¡¯t someone that he could afford to piss off. If Victoria¡¯s objective was to kill or capture him, he wouldn¡¯t be able to resist in the slightest. Dante placed the pill in his mouth and swallowed it. There didn¡¯t seem to be any immediate effects. Victoria watched him swallow it and nodded in approval. ¡°That is an alchemic pill that will aid your muscles in recovery. In the next week, I will teach you how to properly procure the ingredients required, as well as prepare it.¡± His eyebrows rose. Never had he thought that he had swallowed something as priceless as an alchemic pill. They were far more valuable than any regular medicinal pill from an apothecary. ¡°How is that possible without the Alchemist Classification?¡± Victoria shrugged. ¡°How do people farm without a Farmer Classification, or how do people swing a sword without a combat Classification? The process may be far more difficult, but never forget that Classifications are just an aid. And while it is true that you will never be able to create alchemic pills that are anywhere near as effective as an Alchemist Classification¡¯s, lesser pills are still useful.¡± He had never really thought about it, but the way she explained it made complete sense, and a world of possibilities had just opened up to him. ¡°Alright, to start, I¡¯ll need to get a solid grasp of your abilities and skill, as well as their limitations. What are the restrictions in regards to the size and shape of your skill that creates swords?¡± He thought about how to best answer her. At first, he considered deception. Keeping something hidden in order to use it if he needed to catch her off-guard in the future. But he realized how stupid that would be. If Victoria was really going to train him, he couldn¡¯t afford to restrict himself, especially if it was just on the off chance that he could miraculously stop her if she decided to attack him. ¡°There is no limit on either size or shape, as long as there is a blade on it. There is a total mass limit of around sixty average sized swords though, so if I don¡¯t break down my created weapons, I won¡¯t be able to make more.¡± Victoria rubbed her chin in thought. ¡°And yet you only use swords. Still, it¡¯s interesting¡­ Can you partially breakdown weapons, like turning a sword into a dagger by breaking off part of the blade?¡± He opened up his mouth to reply, but didn¡¯t say anything. He couldn¡¯t believe that he hadn¡¯t thought of that. Instead of answering her, he created a regular sized sword in his hand. Then, he focused on partially destroying the blade of the weapon. It was surprisingly easy. Instead of just cutting his connection to the mana, he just had to manipulate the mana to the part of the weapon that he wanted to keep. The other side would then break apart easily. There were a few downsides, but they were minor. The first was that he would need to actually hold the weapon to easily mold the mana, which wouldn¡¯t be a big deal as long as he wasn¡¯t using the skill manipulate blade. The second downside was that the pieces that he broke off would instantly dissipate. Meaning that he could make an existing weapon smaller, but he couldn¡¯t make two weapons from one. He reported his findings to Victoria, and she nodded. ¡°Truly an amazingly versatile skill. I already have a feel for your other skill that pushes swords through the air in both speed and range, but are there any other limitations?¡± Dante nodded. ¡°Yes, I can¡¯t lift anything that is larger than an average greatsword in mass, and I can only move weapons through the air point first.¡± After that, they systematically went through each of his skills. Victoria had a particular interest in his two passives, asking the most questions about the two of them. Unfortunately, she didn¡¯t have any further insight on them that he didn¡¯t have himself. After running through the mana costs and his current attributes, something he had misgivings about revealing but eventually relented, Victoria was silent for a few minutes. ¡°Your skill set is definitely not one that an apprentice of mine would usually have, but we will just need to improvise a bit¡­ What weapons are you proficient with.¡± ¡°Usually I use two swords, but while I was at the academy, I learned how to fight with a single sword.¡± Instead of a reply, Victoria just rubbed her forehead and let out a sigh. It was something that he couldn¡¯t understand, he was quite proud of his progress in swordsmanship during the time spent at the academy. ¡°Unless you have a skill that is dependent on the use of a single sword, they are only useful for pretentious nobles who use it as a status symbol, or mana fodder. Dual wieldingtwoswords is completely moronic altogether, unless you are taught by a true master.¡± The first thing she said made almost no sense based on his prior knowledge, while the second thing she said made absolutely no sense. He couldn¡¯t understand how using two swords could be moronic when it would just mean an extra sword to attack or defend. ¡°Could you elaborate a bit? I don¡¯t see how using a sword could be useless, much less using two¡­ and what is mana fodder?¡± Victoria let out a sigh. ¡°Make two swords.¡± He began creating the two swords, while hoping that Victoria didn¡¯t teach through pain like Archie did. ¡°Mana is a finite resource, especially in battles. No matter the combat Classification, all of them use mana to power their skills.¡± Dante made two full swords. Using two full swords instead of two large daggers had been a habit he had gotten into after learning how to use one efficiently with Archie. Just as he was done creating his two swords, Victoria had a daggerappearin her hand. ¡°Attack me.¡± Dante moved toward Victoria, and began to attack her with the two swords. But she easily batted his attacks away. ¡°So, because it is a finite resource, mana can be depleted. A common tactic to use, especially during sieges, is to send out weak combatants to expend the opponent¡¯s mana, then send in more valuable combatants when there is less potential threat.¡± Victoria continued to hammer his swords away. Every time one even got within range, is was easily knocked away. Initially, he didn¡¯t think much of it, but when he attacked with both ¨C one sword striking toward the dagger, and the other moving directly toward her unprotected body ¨C she would just knock one sword into the path of the other. ¡°Those weaker combatants are called mana fodder, and they are a key part to any modern army. It is one of the reasons magic Classifications are so heavily sought after in war, their high mana regeneration can easily counter the tactic if there are enough of them.¡± After a few minutes, Victoria stopped their light sparring. Leaving him unharmed, which he was more than grateful for. ¡°Now, explain to me why dual wielding twoswordsis stupid.¡± Dante looked down at the two swords in his hand. While it was true that they were useful for versatility and attack variation, Victoria had pointed out a huge weakness that was now obvious. ¡°The swords can easily be tangled with each other.¡± Victoria gave an approving smile and a nod. ¡°Exactly. While a true sword master may be able to teach you how to be proficient with two full swords, I cannot. Now, let¡¯s discuss which weapons would actually be viable for you to learn.¡± He didn¡¯t know why, but something about Victoria¡¯s approving smile actually gave him a sense of satisfaction. For some reason, it felt like the smile was completely genuine and earned. Despite his initial doubts, Victoria was a far better teacher than he could have asked for. Chapter 60 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 60 ¡°Usually, someone who is apprenticing for the guild would only use daggers, the need for anything else is only the result of a lack of ability. But in your case, things are obviously different.¡± ¡°Ideally, you would capitalize on the versatility of your weapon creation skill and master a variety of weapons. However, the number of weapons and styles that I can teach you mastery of is somewhat limited. Ultimately, the choice of what weapons you want to use is yours to make, but I can make a few suggestions based on what I am able to teach.¡± Victoria looked at him as though her question was genuine, which he couldn¡¯t understand. Not only did he have no idea what she could teach him, but she also just proved that everything he knew about weapons was incorrect. Still, so far, Victoria had tried to lead him into thinking things through on his own. It was possible that this was just another example of that, and that the only right choice in the situation was to ask her for her suggestion and do as she advises. ¡°What weapons would you suggest?¡± Victoria gave a nod, as though approving of him asking her. ¡°The first would be the sword and dagger. It would be your defensive fighting style. Focusing on quick movement, and deflection of the opponent¡¯s weapon while also utilizing any skill with the sword that you have already picked up. It will also capitalize on your Blade Dancer passive¡¯s ability to block incoming projectiles with two separate weapons.¡± Her choice was slightly confusing after she had just gone over why swords were only good for mana fodder. But he wouldn¡¯t complain about actually using the sword training that he had already put so much time into. ¡°The second choice, and the reason the first choice is so viable, is dual wielding daggers. I know several different fighting styles that utilize daggers, but the one I have in mind is focused on mainly on evasion and killing blows. Basically, you would go from a sword and dagger to two daggers by breaking up your sword at an opportune moment to go for a killing blow, possibly aided by your teleportation skill.¡± Dual wielding daggers made the first choice far more reasonable after the explanation on swords that she had given him. And he could already see how the quick change up in fighting styles would throw an opponent off in the middle of a fight. ¡°For solid offense, my choice for you is the spear. The range will give you an edge in close combat, and the pierce attacks will penetrate armor, mana shields, and combatants with high constitution far easier than a slash from a sword would.¡± When she mentioned the spear, he immediately thought of Aiden¡¯s fight in the arena. He had no objections to learning how to use such an overbearing weapon. ¡°My last suggestion is for taking on multiple enemies at one time with the situational awareness from your Blade Dancer skill, and is an idea that will need to be tested. Ideally, it would be a spear with an extra spearhead on the other end of the shaft and be used like a glaive. A weapon like that has a lot of weaknesses, mostly because of the lack of versatility in its use, but your blade creation skill can make it useful.¡±Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Her description was somewhat confusing, but based on the weapon having a regular spear at its base, he could see where she was going with it. Victoria saw his thoughtful expression and nodded. ¡°A double-sided glaive has several downsides, but when played to its strengths, is useful in several situations. Basically, any time you get cornered while using the glaive, you would destroy one of the spearheads and instantly switch to the spear style I teach you.¡± He thought it over for a moment. It was common knowledge that a double-sided blade was just as likely to hurt the attacker as the attacked, and the same would likely hold true for a double-sided glaive. Still, he would still try it. He had only used swords thus far, and increased versatility from learning four different fighting styles would increase his fighting strength drastically. Dante nodded to Victoria. ¡°They all sound good, and I¡¯m willing to try out the glaive if you think it might be useful in a fight.¡± Victoria¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change much, but she seemed satisfied. ¡°Let¡¯s begin making the weapons then.¡± After that, the two of them spent almost two hours tweaking the weapons he created. He hadn¡¯t thought that it would be such an arduous process, but even the most minute detail had to be perfect before Victoria approved of one of the designs. Especially when it came to the daggers. He didn¡¯t see how, the dagger was exactly like Victoria¡¯s. A narrow, one-sided knife that that was a few inches over a foot long, while the blade itself was around nine inches. But every time he made it, Victoria instructed him to take several different strikes and stabs, then she would make the most insignificant adjustments in the length or width of the blade. Towards the end, it seemed preposterous, he must have created dozens of daggers, changing the sizes by the absolute smallest amounts. When he finally received Victoria¡¯s approval, it was a massive relief. The other weapons were fairly easy to make. Victoria didn¡¯t have too many specifications for the sword. So, after a few alterations, they settled on a thin shortsword that had a blade that was slightly over twenty inches long. The spear was even easier. Victoria already knew what the rough size of the shaft should be, so after that, they only needed to work on the spearheads. The spearheads themselves were thin, leaf-like blades that had small bladed guards attached to stop his opponents attacks, or their bodies from getting caught on the shaft of the spear itself. Finally done adjusting the weapons to her liking, Victoria glanced over at the sun, which was just beginning to set. ¡°We will start with the sword and dagger. To learn the spear style, you will need to complete the second sequence of the spectral attunement. For the daggers, the third sequence. And to learn the glaive style that I know, you will need to be able to complete the fourth sequence, which may not be feasible. All of them focus on extremely quick, deft movements that will be impossible to learn otherwise.¡± Victoria created two mana manipulated lights. ¡°Make me a sword. The same size as yours will do.¡± He did as she said, then handed over the sword. Victoria received the sword, glanced over it momentarily, then pulled out a dagger for the other hand. ¡°Alright, now let¡¯s see if I can teach you how to keep yourself alive.¡± After that, the two of them began going over the different forms. The use of the sword and dagger still played to his strength, which was speed, but was far more balanced than when he used the two swords. Instead of attacking or defending with two swords at the same time like he had before, he led with the sword and parried with the dagger. One nice thing, was that all of the sword training he had gotten from Archie still applied. Several adjustments were needed to allow for quick maneuvering of the dagger as he swung the sword offensively, but he was catching on to the new style quickly. After a few hours, Victoria stopped him. ¡°That¡¯s enough for the night, go get some rest. We are going to enter the mountain range early tomorrow morning, and you¡¯ll need to be awake and alert if you don¡¯t want to get yourself killed.¡± Dante released a sigh, then looked in the direction of the massive mountain. He didn¡¯t see how a mountain could be so dangerous, but if Victoria thought that it could kill him¡­ it didn¡¯t leave much room for doubt. Chapter 61 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 61 ¡°That¡¯s enough training for the day.¡± Dante heaved a sigh of relief, then released his hold on the first pose in the spectral attunement. Surprisingly, he did much better than he had the day before. It almost seemed like he was twice as flexible. ¡°We are done training already?¡± It was still early in the morning, and they had only been training for a bit over two hours. Victoria gave a curt nod. For some reason, she seemed far more irritated than she had the day before. Thankfully, he didn¡¯t seem to be the cause of her irritation. ¡°I have to go meet with some of the other masters so I can negotiate a time to finish our training.¡± That was news to him, he assumed that they were completely isolated after travelling so deeply into the Wastelands. ¡°There are other people from your guild here?¡± ¡°Of course, few locations are suitable for the training that is required for the guild. Unfortunately, more guild members training here also means that our training will take longer than it would have otherwise.¡± Victoria walked back to her pack and tossed him a sack. After that, she pulled out three different plants. ¡°While I am organizing our schedule, you¡¯ll be foraging for alchemy ingredients. Most of the pill ingredients are fairly common, but three of the twelve are hard to come by.¡± Dante caught the sack, he was slightly surprised she would trust him to be left alone and not try to escape. Victoria held the plants out for him to inspect. ¡°Luckily, they all grow around here. Honestly, I don¡¯t expect much. But if you can find any of the three, the day won¡¯t be wasted.¡± Dante looked at them carefully, doing his best to memorize every detail of the plants. Two of them didn¡¯t seem like they would cause any problems. One was a bright red flower, and the other had violet leaves. Both would be easy to see from afar. The third plant was entirely different though. A single stem connected to green leaves. That was it. There was no odd color or shape, it looked completely generic. Victoria watched him inspect the plant with a slightly amused smile on her face. ¡°The three are called Scarlet Grard, Daydream Lavender, and Thove. That last plant is the rarest because it is the most difficult to identify without an Herbalist Classification, despite the fact that it is the most abundant. The easiest way to identify it is by the smell.¡± She held the plant up for him to test. Curious, Dante leaned forward and sniffed lightly, then instantly jumped backward while uttering a curse. The smell was definitely one he was familiar with. Even if the smell wasn¡¯t nearly as concentrated, he would never forget that foul odor. The amusement on Victoria¡¯s face was slightly more pronounced for a brief moment, then was gone entirely. ¡°I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t have a problem identifying that one if you come across it. There are a few rules to keep in mind while you are out in the mountain range though. Well, two really. If you follow them, you probably won¡¯t get yourself killed anytime soon.¡± Victoria made sure she had his full attention before continuing, and she definitely did. He was more than willing to follow any rules that would increase his chances of survival. ¡°First, stay away from the mountains entirely. Not only are the creatures near them extremely dangerous, but several of the predators specialize in stealth. If you were caught unaware, you would die immediately.¡± ¡°The second, and most important rule, is to keep your skills hidden at all times within the mountain range. Revealing your abilities to the other assassins would make it far harder to finish your training, and far more dangerous as well. Obviously, if your life is on the line, use your skills. But even then, you need to pick and choose which skills you want your opponent to be aware of.¡± Dante froze. Victoria just said that so nonchalantly, but he was having a difficult time coming to terms with her words. Not only did he have an ¡®opponent¡¯, but she said ¡®other assassins¡¯. Not only were there assassins, but other assassins. The implications of her words were clear. Dante glanced at Victoria, looking at her in a new light. Everything that she had told him made so much more sense now. Even the ominously named spectral attunement and her ethereal grace seemed justified. But the news took him completely off-guard. Sure, Victoria behaved somewhat strangely. He suspected that her guild was unlikely to be normal based on how she had been teaching him, but out of the hundreds of guilds in the Outer regions, he never would have thought that she was a part of an assassins¡¯ guild. Seeing his expression, Victoria rolled her eyes. ¡°Relax, you aren¡¯t actually joining the guild. If we didn¡¯t need to use this mountain range, there wouldn¡¯t be any contact with the guild at all during your training.¡± He wasn¡¯t sure how he felt about the new information. Initially, he was disgusted at the thought of training as an assassin. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that it didn¡¯t matter. He couldn¡¯t bring himself to care that Victoria was an assassin. Killing for money may be morally corrupt, but he couldn¡¯t see how it was any worse than what any other combatants did. In fact, after dealing with all of the noble houses, he found the straightforward line of work to be somewhat refreshing. After thinking it over, Dante gave a nod. Passing up the opportunity to learn from someone with the skill that Victoria had would be a massive mistake. The stealth that assassins focused on would not only help him in fighting as a lone combatant, but it would also drastically aid him in his journey across the Chaos region. Victoria¡¯s hand flashed out, and Dante easily caught the item she threw. It was a ring that had the symbol of a closed eye. ¡°That ring should keep you alive if you run into anyone.¡± Victoria turned to leave, but then glanced back. ¡°Most of the predators in the range are nocturnal, I suggest you make it back well before sunset.¡± After saying that, Victoria gracefully stalked into the dense forest of the mountain range.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Dante stood there, alone. If there was a time to try and escape, it was now. Thus far, he had gone along with Victoria as a matter of self-preservation. But now that she was gone, so was his reason to stay. Oddly enough, he didn¡¯t want to leave though. It wasn¡¯t just that he wanted to learn from Victoria, even though he did, it was that he had no idea what to do if he did escape. He had absolutely no knowledge of the Wastelands, aside from the fact that it was ruled by warlords. Giving up on any thought of leaving, and hopelessly wandering the Wastelands aimlessly, Dante walked toward the dense forest that surrounded the vast mountain range. On his way, not only did he put on the ring that Victoria gave him, but he also created a sword and two daggers. The sword was for clearing the underbrush as well as for self-defense when used with one of the daggers. The third dagger was going to be his hidden weapon. If he wasn¡¯t going to be using his Create Blade skill when he got into the forest, getting disarmed was definitely a possibility. After making the weapons, Dante looked down at himself and the tattered clothing that he was wearing. He hadn¡¯t had the opportunity to change his grimy clothes after playing the part of a farmer when he was attempting to sneak into Grimspeak. Thankfully, the baggy long-sleeved shirt and loose-fitting pants that were usually used to block out the sun while working in the fields provided ample room to hide a dagger discreetly. For the first dagger, he scrunched up the waistband of his rugged pants and carefully threaded the blade though. It resulted in the dagger being loosely held by what resembled tiny belt loops, and even though he would need to be very careful of it accidentally slipping out, the dagger could be quickly drawn. He looked over his clothing carefully to find a hiding spot for the second dagger. There were a few locations that might have worked, but none of them would allow him to draw the blade instantly. After around a minute, he had a moment of inspiration and placed the dagger against his forearm so the long sleeve of the shirt completely covered over it. Then, he held it in place with his Manipulate Blade skill. He played around with it for a moment, first making sure the dagger could quickly be drawn into his hand, then practicing the flicking motion that he had seen Victoria use when drawing her dagger. His movements weren¡¯t nearly as clean as hers, but it would suffice in concealing his Manipulate Blade skill. The mana drain also wasn¡¯t a problem. At 2 mana per second, it would only slow down his regeneration, which wouldn¡¯t be an issue if he wasn¡¯t using his other skills. Done preparing, Dante stepped into the thick foliage, eyes scanning for red or purple plants.
As the large lizard jumped at him, Dante lazily blocked its mouth with his sword while stabbing it through the jaw from below with his dagger. The creature died immediately, and both of his hands were preoccupied while the third and final lizard leaped toward him. Unsurprisingly, the people following him didn¡¯t make a move to help him in his seemingly perilous situation. He hadn¡¯t thought that they would, but thought it would be best to try and draw them out anyways. At the last second, Dante spun and plunged the dagger into the last lizard, easily dispatching it. That done, he continued to stalk through the forest while his pursuers trailed in his wake. He wasn¡¯t sure what their goal was. At first, he thought they were the assassins that Victoria had mentioned. But that almost seemed impossible given their clumsiness. Not only could he hear the creaking of branches and the cracking of twigs, but he could also see movement out of the corners of his vision as he scanned the forest for plants. Their presence put him on edge at first, but after the first two hours of being on high alert, it seemed unlikely that they would attack him. One thing that was pissing him off though, was that he was the only one being attacked. It seemed like immediately after entering the forest he had been under constant threat of attack from various creatures, and even though they were all ridiculously weak, it was still annoying to deal with the constant assault. He didn¡¯t know how they kept the creatures at bay, but it was one of the first things he would ask them if he got the opportunity. After walking through the forest for almost thirty minutes, and still not seeing the faintest trace of the plants Victoria sent him to find, he came across a mid-sized stream. With a smile on his face, Dante carefully crossed the stream, then turned to watch the forest behind him. He didn¡¯t know who was following him, but if they wanted to continue doing it, he would find out. Or at least he thought he would. As soon as he stepped on the other side of the bank, a tiny black fox stepped out of the forest and began growling at him. He didn¡¯t think much of it though; the black fox was far smaller than a regular fox, being roughly the size of a large rabbit, and didn¡¯t appear to be much of a threat. Dante raised his sword, preparing to dispatch the fox when he saw the glint of steel out of the corner of his eye. Spinning to confront his attacker, Dante brought his sword up to deflect the fatal blow while holding his dagger out to ward off the black fox that was now charging toward him. His attacker, who only appeared to be a year or two older than him, was much too slow. He was able to easily bring up his sword to meet the incoming dagger, and position himself so he wouldn¡¯t be in the path of the incoming swing, should his strength be lower. After that preparation was done, he divided his focus. The fox was much faster than he had thought, but still slower than him. Focus divided, Dante batted away the incoming dagger and pierced the fox through its chest simultaneously. He was in no way prepared for the result. The first sensation that he was aware of was the electricity. It shot through his sword, going directly through the handle before running through his arm and spreading into his chest. Not only was the electricity a complete surprise, but it also caused his muscles to tense up. The flinch from his muscles tensing cause his dagger to deviate from its intended path at the last moment. It still severely wounded the tiny fox, but it was in no way fatal. As soon as the fox was cut by the dagger, it hissed in pain and twisted around the blade, latching onto his wrist with its razor-sharp teeth. Dante released an involuntary curse, but didn¡¯t have time to dislodge the fox. Instead, he dropped the dagger and punched the sword from his right hand. Somehow, the sword was still electrocuting him even without being in contact with his attacker¡¯s dagger, and he couldn¡¯t release his grip on the weapon with the current running through his arm. The skill that his attacker used was truly treacherous. Even if there were several obvious weaknesses in the skill, it could easily disable heavily armed or armored attackers. ¡°Bastard, that¡¯s mine!¡± The now recovered attacker was coming back at him with dagger extended, and he didn¡¯t hesitate to meet the attack headfirst. Dante flicked his left hand, which still had the fox attached to it, and brought his hidden blade out. Despite his attackers slightly higher than average agility, he easily maneuvered around the incoming thrust, allowing it to nick the fox as he plunged his own weapon in the attacker¡¯s gut in a non-fatal attack. As soon as the dagger hit the fox, he could feel electricity running through its teeth and into his mangled wrist for a brief moment before the fox was dislodged and fell to the floor, no longer moving. The boy who¡¯s gut he punctured actually screamed in pain as he fell to the floor clutching his stomach, but Dante didn¡¯t focus on him any longer. He focused on the five others that were now surrounding him instead. Edit Notes Edit Notes: Overall Changes: Mana is no longer capitalized (was annoying to look at (might have missed a few, so some may still be capped)) Drastically reduced number of ¡®Shits¡¯ overall Increased the role/power of the church, only slightly, but the church (and priests) are far more apparent than before, instead of just being an afterthought POV changes - now have headers to indicate the POVs character Removed ¡°total level¡± from classification tab When increasing multiple levels of the same classification, it no longer adds the information separately. Ex: Leveling Rev from 2-4 would no longer say ¡°Revenant has reached level 3¡­ Revenant has reached level 4¡± but will now just say ¡°Revenant has reached level 4. +2 strength +2 cons, skill description updated¡± Changed a lot of reactions, or words that describe reactions to be more accurate or less exagerated¡­ Hard to explain, but this can kind of change the ¡®feel¡¯ of the characters. It was mostly things that I felt were overreactions, or just cringey (was especially bad in earlier chapters). A good example: I swapped the word ¡®shocked¡¯ to describe Dante¡¯s reaction, to something else like ¡®surprised¡¯ or ¡®thoroughly surprised¡¯ in a lot of places, especially when the surprises were minor. Something like that might seem small, but it makes dante¡¯s character feel more¡­ competent? Changed academy ¡®quarters¡¯ back to ¡®semesters¡¯ (yes, I realize that it isn¡¯t technically correct, but quarters just sounds completely stupid to me, so I switched it back xD) Prologue: Got his status Changed Dante to give him a more ¡°¡¯this is just how it is¡¯ attitude¡± (slightly more than before) Made it so priests spread superstition based on his looks, which is what led to him being treated so poorly, Alazel¡¯s head priest has a slightly more hands-off approach toward him (like a ¡®who cares¡¯) which is why it is safer for him to live there Made it so people have the option to show their classification or not when they get them, but they all choose to reveal them because none of them are leaving Alazel, and don¡¯t need to worry about being farmed for exp (world essence) Head priest was so astonished that Dante didn¡¯t get a classification and he said ¡°No classification?¡± without Dante¡¯s permission, which is how it was found out. (sounds bad, but that is just a summary xD) Made Dante¡¯s past less clear. ¡°First memory was of rummaging through trash years ago, before that he remembered nothing.¡± Gives some wiggle room with where he came from. Took out any mention of Classification name changing through specializing (when I did warrior -> Knight -> etc) Instead of weird smile when Dante sees that he can choose four Classifications, he now wonders where he really came from. Chapter 1: Got his glove Changed the description of mage classification in the beginning of chapter. Was, uses their power to affect the world in various ways. Now, uses their control over mana to impact the world around them (mana manip) Changed Greggory¡¯s father¡¯s overall feel. No longer was a minor noble in the Outer region ¨C no longer makes sense with how the world developed ¨C just mentions him getting kicked out of the Outer region because his family was slaughtered by a rival (aside from Greggory) and thanks to his power as a specialized combatant he is able to rule over a smaller town like Alazel Added a thought of ¡°I could tie a rag around my wrist to hide my classification, but it would be too suspicious¡± Made it that people wouldn¡¯t sell to him because the priests had the business boycotted for a week after it sold to him, before they were just boycotted by the town as a whole with no real reason Changed the encounter with the old woman who gave him the glove. Pretty much the same, but added some surprise from dante because he had thought that the shop was run by an old man before he met her. Chapter 2: Chose Classifications/skills Redid the rationalization for the class choices, basically just redid the thought process, nothing too major of a change, and he still doesn¡¯t have some mentor or figure/hero he looked up to that influenced his choices, thought that would ruin the feel of Dante¡¯s character so early in the book Changed the definition of Int and Wis. Int just gives better memorization skills, Wis gives better understanding. Basically, Wis just increases your ability to understand the world around you. (not on some microbial level, just helps draw conclusions if that makes sense) Teleportation is now a known thing (mostly just rumored to be an ability of rare artifacts, which is how Dante knows. He thought that it was just a rumor prior to actually seeing Blink) Changed Charismas early definition. Dante¡¯s early understanding of the attribute is now; based on both looks and charm. Blink has an initial cost of 30 instead of 20, will no longer increase when leveled. Create Blade now has a starting cost of 50 instead of 40. It didn¡¯t have a real affect on the skills usefulness, so my OCD made the change (cost a max of 75 at level 10) Time acceleration and deceleration skills nerfed. Acceleration now 1.2 times normal speed. Deceleration now .9 times normal speed. Chapter 3: Leave Alazel, kill Isaac/Roderick Added a bit more forethought before he killed Isaac when the fight started. (¡°should I really do this?¡± moment). Also, made it so that when he Blinked behind Isaac when Roderick attacked him; was to escape from Isaac¡¯s line of sight, in case he unslung his bow from his shoulder. Makes the opportunity to kill Isaac (blinking behind him) something more of an opportunistic moment rather than just going for a kill. Chapter 4: Wolf fight Didn¡¯t mention him ¡®cleaning the rabbit¡¯ for you complainers Changed the number of wolves from 13 to 9 because Blink cost more now. World essence gain from fight will remain the same. Foreshadowed both the effects of the glove (very slightly) and the effects of rebirths downside at the end of the fight Chapter 5: Greggory and innkeepers daughter/rebirth of rev making Dante tired/eating wolf Greggory no longer did anything to the innkeepers daughter (too dark for beginning of book xD). Now, he gets angry that the innkeeper is keeping his daughter hidden, and also angry when he sees the innkeepers relief when he about to leave. So, he shoves the innkeeper to the ground. when the innkeeper cowers, he is happy with the reaction he got and drunkenly stumbles to the door. Greggory sees a lantern sitting on a table on his way out, he gets a ¡®brilliant idea¡¯. One thing leads to another, sets inn on fire, innkeeper rushes over to put it out. He knocks the innkeeper unconscious for daring to put out his fire xD. (drunk logic) Made it so when Dante tried to feed mana into Blink after his rebirth of the rev passive made him too tired to walk after the wolf fight, channeling the mana into the skill was too painful. (I don¡¯t know how no one pointed this out. He crawled on the bank for hours without using blink xD) Creature meat no longer decreases the more you eat of it (like a building resistance kinda thing), and now, the world essence slowly leaks out of the creatures body after it dies. (fresher the kill = more world essence) Wolves no longer gave him 6-7 world essence and now gave him 8-9 world essence. Overall gain is the same, but I shrunk the total number of wolves down and kept the total world essence gain the same because it would have required needless changes Chapter 6: Greggory¡¯s father having Greggory flogged/Dante meeting Edward and Sam Some overall changes to Greggory¡¯s father. First, his name is Edwin. He is mad at Greggory for burning down half the city. The riots started because the fire touched the merchants district, causing the merchant guilds to setup the riots in an act of retaliation for what Greggory did. Now, the reason why he wont just go out and put down the riot himself is because he is afraid of the church taking advantage of the situation if he tries to rule with an iron fist. Thinking that they will take the moral high ground and try to abdicate him. This is an overall change to his demeanor, making him far more pragmatic overall, instead of how emotional the response might have seemed prior to the edit. For the most part, the trip with Edward/sam was relatively the same. But when I re-did the dialogue (just cleaned it up) I added a bit of foreshadowing, very minor and not noticable, but emphasis on some of the things Sam said to Edward, to make it fall in line with the way things go. Took out any mention of ¡®total level¡¯ required to join the party. Chapter 7: Tracker finding Isaac¡¯s corpse/dungeon party camp/clear dungeon until boss fight Only real change this chapter was the dungeon party itself. Made the other members, aside from sam Edward and lance, seem like rugged looking bandits when Dante walked into camp. Makes it so Dante has no interest in getting to know them at all, so that they didn¡¯t feel so NPC-like without me going in and adding names/personalities, only to kill them in the next chapter. Chapter 8: Edward inviting Dante to compete in tourney/Dante experiment on corpses/Sam and Edward convo After desecrating the bodies, Dante is so sickened by what he did (after throwing up a few times) that he chooses not to loot the bodies, because he had just thoroughly desecrated them In the convo between Edward and sam at the end, I took out the ominous ¡°you don¡¯t mean?¡± and ¡°to achieve greatness, there must be sacrifices¡± or whatever it was before I changed it. Now it just cuts off with sam thinking that Diana will be a nightmare if Edward forces her into a marriage. (I had a plan for that, and I could still do it, but I doubt I will)This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Chapter 9: Killing goblin dungeon boss Nothing really changed here. Chapter 10: Greggory on his way to academy, meeting Alexander/Layla/Sir Andres, joins them in carriage Greggory and Herman are now travelling to the academy, and not Kenguard xD Adjusted a lot of dialogue, and power dynamics of the group to fall more in line with how they should. Layla takes charge instead of Alexander, and Alexander has a brief moment of hesitation when she invites Dante to go with them, but ultimately wants Dante to go (not reluctant for Dante to join yet because he doesn¡¯t know Dante¡¯s classification, but hesitates nonetheless) Knight, is now a title for specialized close combat classifications. Has nothing to do with warrior classification. Changes Sir Andres¡¯ potential Classification(s) Chapter 11: Layla/Alexander talking to him. Sir Andres is about to test him. Mostly just tweaked the dialogue. Tweaked who said what, rewrote things to make things clear¡­ etc. Pretty much just made Layla the one who was trying to find out his Classification instead of Alexander. There was also a brief moment of alexander saying. ¡°Sir Andres said combatants in the outer edge don¡¯t like to reveal their classifications¡± to try to secretly stop Layla, but other than that, no changes. Same result. Emphasized that lords are bought off to send their combatants to the academy Chapter 12: Fight sir andres, carriage ride continued, sees destroyed caravan at the end of chapter Changed some wording in the fight with sir andres. ¡°reverberations of the swords clashing almost made him lose his grip¡± to ¡°impact of the swords clashing¡±. Dante¡¯s weapons are made of a certain type of magic metal, no reverberations. Tweak dialogue roles for Layla/Alexander Added section in there where Layla hints that academy is dangerous, but not as dangerous as being a solo combat classification leveling on your own (small justification on why people might go there) Chapter 13: Sent off sir andres to find bandits, rode in carriage, fought off ambush The reason Layla needed to get Alexander to order sir Andres was because sir andres received orders from Layla¡¯s mom (andrea) not to listen to Layla¡¯s orders if it went against his judgement on the trip to the academy Layla¡¯s reason for sending away sir andres to search for bandits is because he doesn¡¯t have to follow her orders Chapter 14: Last of the carriage ride, mention of the campaign, ended at the academy Sir Andres was no longer injured as a result of putting down the brigands (6 guards who were with him were still killed) Added some more foreshadowing to academy¡¯s brutal fighting: The group that attacked them is now a group rebelling against the calmans, and targeting any supply/group heading to the academy. (Dante notes it to be an alarming sign, but after the way the attackers desecrated the corpses of the people they killed, he doesn¡¯t see it to be a substantial warning because of how little he thinks of them) Alexander now states that their primary reason for going to the academy is to get experience in leadership, secondary is combat experience. Layla says that training at the academy is effective because you can fight against people of equal skill/level with a lower rate of casualties - from restrictions of the arena. Dante has a moment of ¡°Shit¡¯s more dangerous than I thought (pretty much)¡± Still justified under the ¡®better chance of living than trying to level alone¡¯ After Dante finds out about the credits, he notes that the strong eat weak mentality of the academy, mixed with the credit system will make the competition between students extreme, therefore increasing the overall risk substantially when fighting. (his reaction is: I can¡¯t just jump into the arena headfirst) Chapter 15: Enrolling with sir andres, going inside of his apartment, sleeping on the bed for the first time Name of swordsmanship training is now world essence manipulation training, which focuses on swordsmanship - unless they practice a different kind of weapon. Chapter 16: Mia POV meeting Dante No big changes here. Chapter 17: Getting shoulder healed, getting measured by seamstress, mia walking in bathroom, mia pov after Seamstress tells Dante he needs to cover his gloves ¡®decoration¡¯ as per the academy rules and that she will help him do that. Took out mention of the nobles being ¡®minor¡¯ nobles in Mia¡¯s POV¡­ because Jack isn¡¯t. Mentions that ¨C for the first time in years, Mia wanted to go against her orders so that she could kill them Chapter 18: Wearing combat uniform, meeting Archie, blowing up sword Changed description of combat uniform to match the cover art for the book¡­ lol. Only really notable change was an added belt around his combatants glove to cover over the dragon symbol. Swords can no longer be thrown with world essence. As soon as they are let go, they would just explode. (Dante will still be able to weaponize them by blinking them into enemies) Chapter 19: Archie¡¯s first lesson, Dante/Will getting the shit beat out of them Small change; when Archie hands them the manipulation orb, he says that the orb has a few other uses, but they are only for pretentious upstarts, and have no place in a real combatants training regiment. Chapter 20: Aiden v Bennett arena fight Nothing really changed here. Chapter 21: Greggory/Dante being forced into a fight by Layla Hinted that Layla was having issues with the Headmaster. Fixed the attendants excuse of going to check inside of the arena to be more plausible. (Since its your first arena fight, I¡¯ll need to register you before you can enter) Attendant still messes up when he comes back, indicates that the entire thing is set up. Chapter 22: Killing the Greggory Nothing really notable changed here¡­ some cleanup work here and there, but nothing really worth mentioning¡­ well, I made his question at the end with Mia slightly less strange (her response to the question I mean) might have a little impact. Chapter 23: More world essence manip training with archie, ends in explosion¡­ again Nothing really changed here¡­ hopefully this becomes a pattern (writing these edit notes as I go along lol) Chapter 24: Going to the enchantment room, seeing Kayla with jack and the other two from the seamstress shop No real changes here. Chapter 25: Skill testing in fight simulation room Took out a random thought of ¡°I should go look at metal to see wtf my swords are made from¡±¡­ since that never happened lol (soon though¡­) Chapter 26: Edward learning that Dante is at the academy from Varik, Upset Mia because Kayla Nothing really changed Chapter 27: Dante and Will practicing in the yard, Will giving Dante advice Nothing really changed. Chapter 28: Kayla and Dante walking to the party Very slightly cleaned up the conversation where I thought it was bad Added a ¨C too nervous to be attracted to Kayla¡¯s charms ¨C thought Chapter 29: ¡®Party¡¯ Made Jack and Bridget killing the noble seem slightly more consequential by rewording it¡­ (slightly) Chapter 30: gold arena fight, getting hit by fireball Added a section that changes Dante¡¯s looks¡­ hard to summarize it and get an accurate picture, so here. ¡°He had to be refitted by the seamstress several times so that his uniform would fit properly. Mia seemed to make it her goal to change his physique. He wasn¡¯t sure what exactly she was feeding him, but the rare plants, foods, and pills had a dramatic effect. His figure was now more in line with some of the other nobles who had eaten well and trained vigorously for years.¡± (¡­ had a good reason for this¡­) Took Dante 20 seconds to form world essence sword -> 5 seconds (long time in a fight) Chapter 31: Walking to the place where they pick classes for new semester, talk about taming No real changes. Chapter 32: Choosing classes for second semester No real changes. Chapter 32.5: New character building subchapter I added to 32 Go read this, its at the bottom of 32. Chapter 33: Going to all of his new classes, getting manip tab in status Only real change that has any impact was a small offhanded remark by Kayla (Kayla shrugged. ¡°The academy is a place to gain strength, naturally that comes with a few inherent risks. Commoners generally aren¡¯t treated well.¡± She winked at him. ¡°Not everyone is as nice as I am.¡±) Chapter 34: Edward learns about Mia from Varik, Dante fights platinum tournament with Haden and Jaseni A bit of foreshadowing should go a long way here. When Mia explains mana contracts to Dante, she guesses that either Haden or Jaseni have a contract buyer that is ¡°unfavorable¡±, and therefore fighting in the arena to get a better buyer in better circumstances. Chapter 35: Fighting bridget, Jaseni and haden dying Decided not to change anything here, and just cleaned up some of it. The foreshadowing from 34 should help with any rushed/suddenness feeling it had before. Chapter 36: Killing Bridget, Layla sending people to collar dante After the fight Dante had an empty feeling, like the entire fight had been meaningless, I added a bit where he thinks. ¡°It was strange though, his desire to fight wasn¡¯t stopped, if anything it was still growing.¡± Alluding to¡­ ya know. Chapter 37: Mia and Dante chase, Mia died, Dante collared I actually reread this and decided I didn¡¯t want to change much lol (sorry). There were a few different sentences I tweaked, mostly just for larger impact, or to get across a point. (like slightly more emphasis on the suddenness of it) Chapter 38: Dante in prison, visited by Layla/kayla, Edward with Varik sending out orders Two changes to Edwards POV. Sir Andres was able to make the fighting come to a standstill with his defensive skills in particular, and the Ramotar¡¯s didn¡¯t have anyone who could kill him. Edward found out that Dante was collared because he was standing by the information relay when the report came in. Chapter 39: Emotional breakdown from collar, assigning world essence from fight, sam pov No significant changes here Chapter 40: Dante escaping, Alexander trying to free him Tweaked alexanders POV very slightly to fall in line with the way things went during the carriage ride. Chapter 41: Escaping academy, walking with small girl (eliza), small girl sends Tabitha Made Eliza seem more erratic/bipolar from emotional trauma. Before, she didn¡¯t like her dad so she ran away, but I made it so her mother sent her to get water from a well, and when she got back her house was crushed, after that she couldn¡¯t find her parents (who were in the house when she went to go get water) Here are Dante¡¯s thoughts on it. ¡°He looked at Eliza for a moment, wondering if she understood the possible implications behind her house being crushed. It was even possible that she knew that something had happened to her parents and was just blocking it out. It would make sense, her personality seemed to erratic and bipolar for someone so young.¡± Chapter 41: Layla sending out trackers Added this when Layla said to abandon the academy to send out more combatants to search for Dante. ¡°Layla nodded. Abandoning the academy wasn¡¯t much of a setback. The academy had stopped being a pillar House Calman¡¯s fighting force long ago, it was why they were so lax about deaths in the arena.¡± Took out the phrase ¡®trigger happy¡¯ for you purist Chapter 42: Getting tracked by tabitha¡¯s group/archies group Nothing really changed Chapter 43: Archie/Tabitha killing their groups, Archie giving him gifts Nothing really changed Chapter 44: Killing pursuers, testing dye on tracker he captured Nothing really changed Chapter 45: Grimspeak, having a map made No real change here. Chapter 46: Getting map, going to sleep, andrea sending out combatants and bounty I assigned the world essence he had here (about 3.4k) it leveled his rev and blader classifications from 6-8 and 7-9 respectively. Chapter 47: Buying food, getting discovered for 1k gold bounty Added a bit of talk about what happened at the academy by those around him. Like some muttering in the crowd. Dante has a moment of, ¡®news must have just arrived that morning¡¯ Chapter 48: Escaping grimspeak, running into the guards and escaping on a horse Nothing really changed here. Chapter 49: Horse chase, getting stuck in grass with Jared and Arron Redid some of the fighting so that Dante never threw a mana filled sword, blinking them instead. Made the fight seem slightly easier, but that¡¯s the cost of less variation Chapter 50: Predatory dungeon, essence crystals, Jared/Arron fight Added dialogue from Jared mentioning that the dungeon was older than they thought, and therefore far more dangerous When Arron talks about Jared¡¯s monster crystal skill, I emphasized that it was an active skill Chapter 51: Killing Arron/Jared, specializing Blader When he couldn¡¯t crush Arron¡¯s monster crystals, but could crush Jared¡¯s he had a wondering thought on why ownership wouldn¡¯t transfer to Jared, and then him after he killed Jared Redid the numbers on world essence because I assigned world essence in ch 46 Chapter 52: Status management, new skills testing and stuff Nothing really changed that is worth mentioning Chapter 53: Predatory dungeon boss fight Nothing really changed Chapter 54: Killing dungeon boss Nothing really changed. Chapter 55: Getting monster crystals I changed the oppressive will skill he got from the monster crystal. Its still the same skill, but I made it a passive skill that is toggleable by channeling mana through it. (Reasoning: constant mana drain. Active monster crystal skills will now be defined as skills with a mana cost instead of a mana per second drain.) Chapter 56: Vicar Edward and Andrea POVS on fight stuff Added a tidbit that mentions that Edward and Arthur (Archie) knew each other in the past, but hadn¡¯t seen each other in years Chapter 57: Going over the border wall, Victoria POV Nothing really changed Chapter 62 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 62 The five newcomers surrounded him, and his grip on the dagger tightened in preparation. Of the five, two were girls that looked eerily similar and beautiful, likely either twins or sisters, and the other three were boys that had nondescript appearances. They were all young, but without using Blink, it was unlikely that he could take on all of them. Thankfully, only one of them seemed like they were an immediate threat, the other four hadn¡¯t drawn a weapon and seemed relaxed. ¡°First you make us chase a new apprentice around for hours, and now you get yourself hurt over a mere umbra fox. Absolutely pathetic.¡± One of the two girls had both arms crossed over her chest as she addressed his attacker. The other, who he presumed to be the girl¡¯s sister, didn¡¯t seem to be nearly as upset. ¡°But on the bright side, he is even cuter up close. It¡¯s about time we had a male apprentice who wasn¡¯t completely average looking.¡± She winked at him, which seemed to make the situation worse, because one of those average looking apprentices drew a dagger. The girls¡¯ appearances were in stark contrast to the other three. Both of them had curled blond hair and refined features, and with the aid of their alluring figures, would draw every eye in the crowd. The other three would be completely forgotten in a crowd though. Everything about them screamed average. From their generic brown hair, to their plain features, or even their average height, nothing stood out. No one would pick them out of a crowd, and even if they did, they would likely be mistaken as common farmers. ¡°In the name of the Goddess, will the two of you shut up?¡± The one who had drawn his weapon immediately was glaring at him. ¡°Jaric, get your ass over here and patch up Carter before he bleeds out.¡± The one who he presumed to be Jaric shrugged, then walked over to the downed attacker and began applying pressure to the gut wound. Seeing his orders being carried out, the boy turned back to Dante. ¡°Now, why in the hell are you in our territory?¡± ¡°Please shut up Gavin, you¡¯ll only embarrass yourself. Hannah said that she saw his guild ring when this fiasco started.¡± As the girl who winked at him came to his defense, the other boy that drew his dagger tensed up. He hadn¡¯t even opened his mouth, but It seemed like things were only escalating. ¡°Besides, you saw him fight. Carter wasn¡¯t even his match, much less the two of you.¡± As she said those words in a mocking tone, the two of them tensed up even further. At this point, he was almost certain that her intentions weren¡¯t pure. Behind Gavin, there was a flash of light and a whimpering noise that caught his attention. The wound that Jaric was holding his hand against was suddenly set ablaze, and for a moment he thought that Jaric was trying to kill Carter. But then the inferno in Jaric¡¯s hand was cut off, revealing completely normal looking skin. Not only was the wound fully healed, but there wasn¡¯t even a scar. The two of them were both pale and heaving for breath, and although they seemed to be on death''s door, it was the most amazing healing he had ever seen. Carter stood, propped up with the help of Jaric, and Dante took stock of him for the first time. Unlike the other three men in the group, Carter wasn¡¯t average looking. It wasn¡¯t that his looks were above average, but something about him was off. He just looked threatening, almost feral. One glance at him would put anyone on edge. ¡°Who is your master?¡± Despite Carter¡¯s threatening tone, the way he forced the words out between pants was somewhat pathetic. After thinking the consequences over for a moment, he answered. ¡°Victoria Nix.¡± Victoria could handle herself far better than he could, and even if she couldn¡¯t, it wasn¡¯t as though he owed her anything after she forced him into being her apprentice. Gavin sneered. ¡°Hmph, some apprentice with a no-name master dares-¡±Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Shut your mouth, Gavin.¡± Carter barely managed to force the words out, then he looked down to the fox. ¡°We¡¯re leaving. Grab the umbra fox.¡± Gavin had a look of disbelief on his face. ¡°What do you mean-¡± ¡°Master Daxez will deal with him.¡± Gavin nodded, seemingly reassured, then stepped toward the unconscious fox. He wasn¡¯t sure what significance the fox had, but it was clearly desirable. He moved forward until the fox was directly underneath him, completely cutting Gavin off. If he was already going to be ¡®dealt with¡¯, there wasn¡¯t much to lose. As soon as he stepped forward, Gavin hesitated, and Carter visibly gritted his teeth. ¡°Forget the fox. Let¡¯s go.¡± With the help of Gavin, Carter crossed the creek, then moved into the forest. It was hard to believe how easily the situation had been resolved. Even though he was confident in his ability to beat them in a fight, Carter¡¯s restraint despite his anger was impressive, and slightly worrying. That left him with the two sisters, the boy who drew his dagger late, and Jaric. Jaric turned to the girl who winked at him. ¡°Did you really need to egg them on, Olivia? If he complains to Master Daxez, we will all get double extra time in the pits.¡± Olivia rolled her eyes. ¡°If I spent even one more minute with Carter I would have thrown up.¡± She gave Dante a coy smile. ¡°Besides, I couldn¡¯t let them bully such a cute new apprentice.¡± Something about the way Olivia spoke was strange, her sultry voice seemed to directly affect his emotions in a way he couldn¡¯t understand. The other girl, the one who he presumed to be Hannah based on the earlier conversations, spoke up. ¡°We need to get back, or we will get Master Ulete in trouble.¡± She glanced back to him. ¡°Be careful, Carter may not be much, but his master is a deputy guild master in one of the guild¡¯s branches, and has already completed the fourth level of the spectral attunement. I would suggest that you give the fox to Carter as a peace offering and make amends before your master bears the burden of your actions.¡± Before making any rash decisions, he would need to find Victoria and see how well she matched up against Carter¡¯s master. ¡°Thank you for the advice.¡± He kept his answer neutral awarding him a nod from Hannah. Hannah left, and was followed by both Olivia and Jaric, leaving him alone with a very angry looking boy holding a dagger. ¡°If you so much as touch Olivia, I will kill you.¡± It seemed that the only reason he had stayed behind was to leave a threat, and Dante watched him leave warily. He had only been in the mountain range for a single day, and it seemed like three apprentice assassins already wanted to kill him, and he had yet to meet their masters. Letting out a sigh, Dante reached down to check the fox. They had called it an umbra fox, and since it had been the cause of his predicament, he very much hoped it was still alive. After checking its pulse and finding it to still be alive, he looked at the injuries that it had been inflicted with. Surprisingly, both of its cuts were already clotting, and it seemed like the fox was in no immediate threat of dying. Taking out the sack that Victoria had given him, he placed the fox inside and slung it over his shoulder. That done, he collected the weapons he dropped on the floor and rearmed himself. The electricity in the sword was already completely gone, so either Carter had stopped the skill, or it had deteriorated over time. After picking up the weapons, he continued through the forest. There was still a few hours left until sunset, and thus far, he hadn¡¯t found a single plant that Victoria had sent him for.
After several fruitless hours walking through the forest and fending off creatures, he was finally almost back to their camp. There was a lingering feeling of disappointment at not finding any of Victoria¡¯s plants, but he had to give up, despite the sun still being high in the sky. A combination of irritation and fear had ended his foraging trip prematurely. The irritation was from the fox. He didn¡¯t expect it to be so vigorous after losing so much blood. As soon as it woke up, it did its best to claw and bite him through the sack. It wasn¡¯t a big deal when he was just walking through the forest, but it was a distraction when he ran into dangerous creatures. The fear came with the realization that he was alone in the forest, and there was potentially a master assassin looking for him. Initially, he had thought that Carter¡¯s master would go to Victoria and handle the dispute through her, but then he realized that an assassin might take advantage of an opportunity to kill him secretly. It wasn¡¯t as though assassins were very scrupulous¡­ Because of that fear, making it back to the camp was more than a relief. As soon as he stepped out of the forest, he saw Victoria resting by a tree stump with her bird and let out a sigh of relief. As he walked up to the camp, Victoria looked him up and down. ¡°It seems like you got into some trouble today.¡± Dante looked down at his appearance. He was dirtied, but nothing that wouldn¡¯t be normal after searching through a mountain range with so many creatures. ¡°How did you know?¡± Victoria looked behind him. ¡°You brought guests.¡± Dante followed her gaze to the forest¡¯s edge. At first, he didn¡¯t know what Victoria was talking about, but then over a dozen people walked out from the underbrush. Chapter 63 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 63 Dante looked over them carefully, and wasn¡¯t surprised to see Carter hobbling forward with a smug grin on his face. Other than Carter, the others all seemed to be well into their middle-ages. The only exception seemed to be either Hannah or Olivia, he couldn¡¯t tell which, and another youth that seemed to be well into his twenties walking next to Carter. The appearances of the ten middle-aged assassins walking toward them were far more varied then he would have thought. Several of them were plain, just like the other apprentices he had seen, they wore average looking clothing and had boring facial features. Two of them looked like what he would have thought to be an assassin before meeting Victoria, they were shrouded in a black cloak that completely covered their faces. And the one who was walking next to Hannah or Olivia was exceedingly beautiful, to a degree that didn¡¯t seem realistic. The one who stood out the most though, was the assassin who was walking next to Carter and the other youth. That assassin strutted forth like a noble, and was completely covered in extravagant clothing made out of exceedingly expensive fabric. They seemed to be heavily outmatched. He had faith in Victoria when he thought she would be fighting one on one with another master, but he hadn¡¯t thought that they would be besieged by almost a dozen at the same time. Glancing back to Victoria, he was surprised to see that she still hadn¡¯t moved, she was still sitting by the tree stump, picking at her nails with a dagger. She wasn¡¯t even looking at the approaching danger. ¡°Should we run?¡± Victoria looked at him incredulously. ¡°Why would we do that?¡± He opened his mouth to state the obvious, then stopped himself. ¡°Forget I said anything.¡± Victoria seemed rather confident, but in a foul mood. The combination of the two was slightly worrying. Dante walked past her, then waited as the fox continued to claw him through the sack. If Victoria couldn¡¯t stop them, things would go badly for him. It wasn¡¯t as though he would be much help in a fight though, so he made a point to get out of her way and hope for the best. It was unsurprising that the extravagant assassin spoke first. ¡°Are you Guild Master Nix?¡± Dante looked at Victoria, eyes wide. She¡¯s a guild master? The realization was shocking, and made the assassin¡¯s derisive tone even more surprising. He didn¡¯t see how a guild master could be looked down upon. Victoria looked up at him, and her eyes narrowed. ¡°Are you the shit head who wasted my entire day?¡± Several of the other masters looked taken aback by Victoria¡¯s words, while others just watched the event¡¯s impassively. The finely dressed assassin¡¯s expression changed the most though, his face twisted into a mixture of anger and disgust, and his words came out like a low growl. ¡°You dare?¡± Victoria¡¯s took a deep breath, as if restraining herself. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°Your apprentice-¡± His eyes locked onto Dante. ¡°snuck up on mine with the malicious intent to kill. If it weren¡¯t for Carter¡¯s superior talent, he wouldn¡¯t even be alive. Hand him over to me immediately, and I might consider this issue to be resolved.¡± Dante frowned, and was now hoping that Victoria would fight. Clearly this was the Master Daxez that Carter had referred to. Victoria¡¯s eyebrows rose, but if anything, she still looked bored. She glanced back at him. ¡°Is that true?¡± Before he could even answer, a very alluring laugh rang out, completely cutting through the tension between Victoria and Master Daxez. Somehow, the laugh was almost incapacitating. Everyone looked to the source, and saw one of the girls, Olivia or Hannah, whispering into the exceedingly beautiful woman¡¯s ear. A second laugh rang out, and this time it was incapacitating. ¡°Master Daxez, it seems that your apprentice has been naughty.¡± The woman¡¯s sultry voice seemed to resonate inside of his mind, and he felt an overwhelming attraction toward her. ¡°Olivia says that Carter was following Master Nix¡¯s apprentice, waiting until the new apprentice was outside of the detection enchantment so that he could ambush him. Apparently, your apprentice was defeated almost immediately.¡± The woman smiled at Dante, then winked. He was having a hard time comprehending the woman¡¯s words, but the fact that she was coming to his defense filled him with overwhelming satisfaction. Master Daxez frowned, then looked back to see Carter¡¯s ugly expression, and his frown deepened.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Victoria¡¯s expression, on the other hand, didn¡¯t change at all. It seemed like the woman¡¯s words didn¡¯t surprise her in the least. ¡°Now it is apparent why you were avoiding me Master Daxez, it seems that the Devoted branch can only raise inferior talent. Don¡¯t worry, as a fellow member of the assassin¡¯s guild, how could I not sympathize with your plight? Consider this issue resolved, I won¡¯t allow my Dante to bully your inferior apprentices any longer.¡± The clear provocation in Victoria¡¯s words and the slight against the Devotion guild branch was enough to make Master Daxez¡¯s face flare crimson with rage. ¡°You think that this¡­ child can truly compare to the Devotion branches top disciple?¡± ¡°Of course, don¡¯t you? I can¡¯t possibly think of another reason why you wouldn¡¯t allow Dante to challenge him.¡± Master Daxez sneered, and his tone was menacing. ¡°I was simply busy and didn¡¯t have time to deal with someone as insignificant as you. Jace will gladly accept¡­ as long as something of equal value is wagered.¡± Victoria nodded. ¡°The usual terms should do.¡± For the first time since the conversation began, Master Daxez looked truly pleased. ¡°Master Flaril, please draw the contract.¡± One of the cloaked masters pulled out a seemingly ordinary piece of parchment paper, then held it in front of him. The master imbued a finger on his free hand with mana, then used it to write on the parchment. It took a few minutes, and everyone waited patiently for him to finish. When the master was done, he handed the paper to the youth that was next to Carter, and he did the same. Only scratching on the paper with his finger for a brief moment before handing it to Master Daxez. Master Daxez flicked his wrist, and the paper was guided by world essence until it reached Dante and he caught it out of the air. It was quite obvious that he was supposed to sign it, but as he read it, he couldn¡¯t help but think that would be a poor choice. There were a few different items that immediately drew his attention. The first was that they were fighting for access to a dungeon, and the fight would be one week prior to the dungeon boss¡¯s reappearance. When that was, it didn¡¯t say. That sounded nice, but right under that, it stated that killing during the fight was not prohibited, meaning that it was a potential deathmatch. Under that was the ¡®terms¡¯ that Victoria had mentioned. Apparently, even if he survived the fight, a loss would result in literal slavery, but not for Jace, only him. That was made worse by the fact that if he didn¡¯t show up to the fight, it would be an immediate loss. Other than those major rules, there were also several restrictions on enchantments, alchemic pills, and even weapons. It was daggers only. He looked to Victoria in disbelief, the mana contract was clearly one-sided, but she just nodded, as if indicating that he should sign it. Dante cleared his throat. ¡°Could you sign it for me?¡± He hadn¡¯t even revealed his oddly colored world essence and mana to Victoria, so he had no intention of doing it now. Victoria frowned, and Master Daxez laughed. ¡°And you were wondering why I thought that this would be a waste of my time?¡± Victoria stood and took the paper, then quickly signed her name and flicked it back to Master Daxez. ¡°I will stand as proxy.¡± All of the masters had a physical reaction to Victoria¡¯s words, visibly taken aback. Master Daxez held the mana contract like it was a treasure, a smug look on his face. ¡°I see that you are quite confident, or foolish. I¡¯ll leave you to your training, Guild Master Nix.¡± Master Daxez turned to leave, walking back to the forests with several masters trailing behind. Carter looked at him for a moment, a smug smile on his face, then turned to follow. ¡°It¡¯s so great to see you again Vicky!¡± The beautiful woman¡¯s incapacitating voice washed over him, and he watched in astonishment as she ran over and embraced Victoria. Victoria took the embrace in stride, but didn¡¯t return it. ¡°Let go of me Melisandre. And don¡¯t call me that.¡± Melisandre broke off the hug, but still held Victoria at arm¡¯s length as she inspected her. ¡°Still so sulky, you haven¡¯t changed a bit!¡± She glanced back at Dante. ¡°So this is the new apprentice Olivia has told me about.¡± Melisandre walked up to him, then embraced him in an intimate hug. ¡°Hmm, so handsome. Maybe we should get a male apprentice, Olivia.¡± Melisandre¡¯s words were already alluring, but her touch was divine. As soon as she made contact with him, he felt euphoric, and everything else in the world seemed to disappear as his urges increased. Victoria rubbed her eyes as though she had a headache. ¡°Please stop charming my apprentice.¡± Melisandre broke contact, and he immediately sobered. ¡°You''re always so serious Victoria.¡± Strangely, the words didn¡¯t affect him like they had only moments ago, and even her beautiful appearance seemed to degrade to something that seemed feasible. Finally able to hear something else besides Melisandre¡¯s voice, he was immediately drawn to Olivia¡¯s giggling. He looked over at her, then followed her gaze, then immediately turned around and adjusted his pants, face now beat red. ¡°Anyways, it¡¯s so great, and unexpected, to see you again Vicky. I would love to stay and chat, but Olivia and I need to make it to Desas before nightfall. Sleeping outside would ruin my complexion, I¡¯m sure you understand.¡± Hearing the words, Dante sighed in relief. Melisandre was terrifying. He was going to turn around when he felt soft arms wrap around his body and Olivia¡¯s voice in his ear. ¡°Want to come with us? I¡¯m sure it would be far more¡­ comfortable than sleeping out here.¡± Her breath seemed to caress his ear, and he was surprised to find that it wasn¡¯t the least bit unpleasant. Dante cleared his throat. ¡°Thank you, but I¡¯ll pass.¡± He could here Olivia¡¯s pout in his ear, and she disentangled her arms from his body. ¡°There¡¯s no need to play hard to get.¡± Thankfully, as soon as she said those words she left, following Melisandre who was already far away. Dante looked at Victoria. ¡°Who was that?¡± ¡°An old acquaintance, we were apprenticing for the guild at the same time.¡± Victoria looked at him, and his still slightly reddened face. ¡°I need to teach you how to resist mental attacks.¡± He couldn¡¯t help but wholeheartedly agree. ¡°So, I shouldn¡¯t have a problem fighting Jace, right?¡± Victoria must have had some faith in him. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have allowed him to throw away his life. ¡°No, in a fight you would be absolutely demolished in seconds, even with your Classifications.¡± Victoria walked to her stump and sat against it, pulling out a dagger and picking at her nails. ¡°So you just signed me away to slavery at best?¡± His tone was full of resentment. He had thought he and Victoria had been getting along fine, but now he felt completely betrayed. Victoria continued to pick at her nails, full of nonchalance. ¡°I stepped in as proxy, so worst case scenario, I will be the slave.¡± Chapter 64 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 64 He processed the words for almost a full minute. ¡°Why would you sign the mana contract then?¡± Victoria rolled her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s not as though you can¡¯t win, it¡¯s that you currently wouldn¡¯t be able to. I was told that you only took a basic world essence manipulation class at the academy, which wouldn¡¯t be a problem on its own, but Jace has likely already specialized at least two Classifications three times. I¡¯m not sure what Classifications he has, or even how many, but they definitely won¡¯t be normal.¡± It was challenging to comprehend her words, mainly because as soon as he heard specialized three times, his brain shut down. ¡°Three times, how is that even possible?¡± Even specializing twice didn¡¯t seem feasible with the drastic increase of world essence required after the first specialization. ¡°The wastelands are far less populated than the noble¡¯s territory. In other words, far more resources go to far fewer people. Specialization isn¡¯t uncommon, even for standard mercenaries, and twice specialized is the norm for most leaders. It¡¯s the reason why Daxez was so pretentious, even though my position is technically higher. And also the reason the nobles were unable to recapture the wastelands after the last campaign. The Devotion guild branch that he is a part of is one of the strongest in the outer regions, and if they journeyed so far for Jace, he is likely being groomed to be the next guild master.¡± It seemed like the world as he knew it was just turned upside down. ¡°If you and Master Daxez were to fight, who would win?¡± Victoria snorted. ¡°I would crush him like a bug.¡± ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you?¡± His tone was incredulous, everything could have been avoided if Victoria had just rolled over Master Daxez. ¡°I will, but due to certain preexisting circumstances, it would be¡­ problematic if I stirred up too much trouble and brought too much attention to myself.¡± She smiled at him, but it seemed somewhat sinister. ¡°All you have to do is kill Jace, then make Daxez mad enough to attack you, and I¡¯ll kill him with no questions asked.¡± Great. He was bait. ¡°How can I beat Jace then?¡± Their fight didn¡¯t have a set time, so he didn¡¯t even know how much time he had to prepare. It was possible that it would take place in only a few days. Victoria seemed to think it over. ¡°The number of attributes the two of you currently have are likely similar, although yours would be more diverse, and you likely wouldn¡¯t lose out when it comes to skills, if only because you can teleport. Where you truly lose out is world essence control, I would guess that Jace has already completed the third level of the spectral attunement. But I wouldn¡¯t worry, we have over a year before this particular dungeon boss reforms.¡± ¡°Would the spectral attunement even make that much of a difference?¡± Victoria had said that it was just a footwork technique, so he had thought it would mainly just keep his footsteps quiet when sneaking. Victoria stood and walked over to her bag, then pulled out a bracelet. ¡°The spectral attunement was created by the ancient master assassins of the inner regions, it shouldn¡¯t be underestimated. Watch closely.¡± She clamped on the bracelet. ¡°This bracelet has an enchantment that works similarly to wraith collars, but this one in particular won¡¯t interfere with mana, skills, or world essence manipulation. In other words, it¡¯s a training band that will limit my attributes to what they would be without my Classifications.¡± If there was a time to try and attack or flee from Victoria, it was now. He didn¡¯t really consider it though. ¡°This is the result of learning the second level of the spectral attunement.¡± Victoria stood in place while blue world essence seemed to surround her legs, becoming incredibly thick in only a brief second. Then she jumped sideways to the sound of rocks being crushed, moving at a speed that didn¡¯t seem conceivable. It was even faster than him, without any Agility attributes. ¡°As you can see, the second level will bolster one¡¯s speed dramatically, and also carries a decent amount of power.¡± Victoria pointed to the ground where she was standing only moments ago, it was completely shattered. Even the ground she was currently standing on had cracks in it. Victoria saw his serious expression, then nodded. ¡°It¡¯s a bit unrefined at the second level, but effective in combat nonetheless.¡± After saying those words, she jumped side to side in rapid succession, he was able to keep up with her movements visibly, but doubted that he would be able to match them. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Victoria came to a stop. ¡°Agility and Dexterity will also aid in speed and control while utilizing this technique.¡± That meant that the speed he could reach with just the second level of the spectral attunement would be far greater than he would be able to otherwise. ¡°The third level doesn¡¯t drastically increase speed like the second, but will enhance a combatant¡¯s offensive ability to a terrifying level.¡± Victoria pulled out two daggers. ¡°The control required for the third level will give the necessary skill for world essence channeling, and is also the reason why two daggers are so viable.¡± She held the daggers out and filled them with world essence. Victoria had far more control than anyone he had ever seen, the daggers only had a thin blue layer of world essence covering them, like a razor''s edge. If he hadn¡¯t been watching carefully, he likely wouldn¡¯t have even noticed it. ¡°After impaling someone with the two daggers, you can channel the world essence between them and inflict massive damage that won¡¯t be stopped by world essence diffusion.¡± The daggers she held out had no visible change, but tendrils of blue world essence began to quickly shoot between them. It almost looked like lightning jumping between the two blades. Victoria stopped, and Dante cleared his throat. ¡°What is world essence diffusion?¡± She looked at him for a brief moment, as if wondering he was serious, then sighed. ¡°At its base level, world essence diffusion is when a combatant¡¯s Constitution and Intelligence, or in other words mana, interferes with the world essence cutting into their body. It¡¯s why a world essence manipulated blade can cut down a tree in one swing, but won¡¯t necessarily kill a combatant with a bit of Constitution or a massive amount of Intelligence.¡± After thinking it over, Victoria¡¯s words made sense. Cutting through enemies was one of his largest issues in a fight, but he had associated the issue with his lack of ability in world essence manipulation. It wasn¡¯t the least bit upsetting though, because it meant that he would be far more resistant to world essence manipulated attacks. Still, it wasn¡¯t something he would be testing willingly. If world essence channeling countered that, it was exceedingly useful. It made the second and third level of the spectral attunement as useful as two unique skills, and there were still two levels left. ¡°There is also something of a counter to your teleportation skill that Jace will know, but he may not use it if he doesn¡¯t know of your skills beforehand.¡± She said it nonchalantly, but he froze. Blink was his best skill by far, and without it, his offensive and defensive potential would be destroyed. Victoria saw his bleak look and rolled her eyes. ¡°Relax, it¡¯s not that bad. It¡¯s a counter to every skill, try teleporting to me.¡± Doing as she said, he spread his awareness toward Victoria and was surprised to find that his awareness couldn¡¯t come within around a foot of her body. He could still Blink to her, just outside of its reach, but wouldn¡¯t be able to cross that threshold. ¡°This is called a mana aura, created by dispensing mana in the vicinity around you to block skills from being cast. Without using it, a skilled magic combatant could just cast a skill directly on your body to instantly kill you, or someone like you could just stab everyone in the eye for an instant kill.¡± He wasn¡¯t sure how he felt about that. Even if it was great news when he was going to be attacked, it was slightly limiting in his offense. Thankfully, given the way he fought, it wasn¡¯t such a big deal and would likely help him more than it hurt him. ¡°This mana aura is useful, but the drain is quite high. Basically, you just wastefully throw your mana out of your body. My current upkeep for this aura, which has a radius of around one foot, is 10 mana per second. Many skilled combatants will keep it activated, but only dispense it at the rate of their mana regeneration.¡± That was good news, if only for his Blink skill. Not many people would be able to keep up with a 10 mana per second drain. Victoria took off the bracelet, then pocketed her daggers. ¡°So, what¡¯s in the bag?¡± He had been so preoccupied with Victoria¡¯s demonstration that he had actually completely forgotten the fox that was continuing to scratch him through the bag. ¡°They said it was an umbra fox. Honestly, I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s worth anything, but I brought it with me anyways.¡± Victoria¡¯s eyebrows rose. ¡°You found an umbra fox?¡± She held her hand for the bag, and he gave it to her. Victoria reached in for the fox and pulled it out, and he was surprised by how docile it had become. It didn¡¯t put up any struggle whatsoever. ¡°It¡¯s young too. How interesting. I was going to find you a flying creature that utilizes stealth for scouting, but this could do.¡± He perked up at the mere thought of taming a creature, any creature. She glanced up at him. ¡°Umbra foxes are rare creatures that have a natural stealth skill, but this one is a bit young, so it won¡¯t have the ability for a few months. Because of that, and its speed, it could be considered an ideal utility creature for anyone in my guild, but it¡¯s generally looked down upon because it offers no offensive or defensive support. Its intelligence is also well above average, but should still be something you can handle as it grows. Whether or not you want to keep it is your choice.¡± An offensive creature would be nice, but not really necessary, and Victoria had said that she was going to get him a bird for scouting anyways. ¡°How large will it become?¡± The fox was small, but Victoria said that it was young. If it stayed its current size, around the size of a rabbit, it would be easy to hide in almost any situation. Victoria examined the fox from a few different angles. ¡°It¡¯s already fully grown.¡± Dante nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll keep it then.¡± Victoria sighed in what seemed to be relief. ¡°Then we can leave this damn mountain range early and get some actual combat training in.¡± Chapter 65 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 65 As he and Victoria walked further into the mountain range the next morning, he was shocked by how clear the air seemed. He felt completely revitalized, as if he was full of energy. Victoria reached into her bag and took out two pills, taking one herself and handing him the other. ¡°Take this, now that we are in the Outer region, the creatures can be far more tedious. It will keep them from sensing us.¡± Dante took the pill and ate it, it was likely what kept Carter and the others hidden from creatures when they followed him. After that, he looked around at the vegetation and terrain surrounding them, now that he was in the outer region, he saw everything as if it was for the first time. Other than the change in the overall feel of the air, there wasn¡¯t a massive difference. The plants seemed slightly larger if anything, and there was a bit more variation, but everything else seemed similar. ¡°Now that we are in the Outer region, it is actually a good time to begin your world essence manipulation training. It¡¯s a bit tricky to get the hang of, but try to condense world essence into your left hand.¡± As Victoria instructed him, she didn¡¯t stop moving forward, or even look back. Her eyes were constantly scanning the path in front of them, only occasionally pausing to harvest a particular plant along the way. ¡°It should go without saying, but don¡¯t do anything but condense the world essence. It is very easy to do irreparable damage to the nerves in your hands.¡± He began to manipulate the world essence, and at first was surprised by how much easier it seemed to pull in. It wasn¡¯t any easier to control, but there just seemed to be more of it. Like he only had to work half as hard to draw it toward himself. Then he tried to condense it into his hand, and it seemed immensely challenging. As soon as he pushed any in, the world essence immediately spread through his body and then leaked out. After several minutes of trying different methods to no avail, he turned to Victoria for advice. ¡°No matter how hard I try to contain it, the world essence won¡¯t stay in my hand.¡± Victoria nodded. ¡°It¡¯s nowhere near as easy as condensing world essence into a weapon. There are several issues when condensing world essence into the body, but one of the largest is blood flow. Any world essence that is accidentally condensed into your blood will be lost as it spreads through your body. Learning how to keep the world essence out of your bloodstream is the first hurdle that you need to overcome when trying to manipulate world essence in the body, and after doing it, you will be able to condense a small amount.¡±A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. As Victoria spoke, he stared at his hand. Knowing where the blood in his hand was, and then avoiding it while condensing world essence seemed like an impossibility. But after thinking it over, he had an idea. Using the technique that Mia had taught him, he channeled mana through his mind, then forced it into his hand instead of pushing it outward. Not only could he sense where his muscles, nerves, bones, and blood were, but the mana also wasn¡¯t wasted. After that, all he needed to do was carefully condense it.
It was several hours later when they finally broke through the mountain range. The lush forest that surrounded the range opened up to the flat plains that seemed to cover most of the wastelands, and what seemed to be a small settlement in the far distance. During the trip, he made great strides in controlling the world essence, and by the end, he could almost condense it a bit. It wasn¡¯t practical, it took him almost a full minute to collect enough in his hand and then ebbed away as he tried to condense it, but progress was being made. It made him respect Victoria¡¯s skill all the more. It only took her around a second to do it in both legs when showing him the second level of the spectral attunement. As they continued to walk, it became quite clear that the settlement was their destination, but it also became clear that it wasn¡¯t a settlement at all. The flat and open plains were disorientating. As they walked closer, the settlement got larger, but they didn¡¯t get any closer. No, it wasn¡¯t a settlement at all, but a fortress, and one of the largest he had ever seen. ¡°Where are we going?¡± Victoria glanced back at him. ¡°This is Desas, and the headquarters of a fairly influential warlord. We are going to stop here briefly to see Melisandre. She can give us a feel for the current circumstances of the wastelands to determine the best location for you to get experience in the next year.¡± He wasn¡¯t sure how he felt about seeing Melisandre and Olivia again. It wasn¡¯t as though he didn¡¯t like them, he just felt threatened by them. No matter how much he tried to hold the feelings back, both Olivia and Melisandre were incredibly alluring. Yet he was unwilling to be manipulated by them, or anyone again. After thinking it over for a few more minutes, he decided to ask Victoria a question, almost involuntarily. ¡°How do you know who you should trust?¡± Victoria stopped walking, then looked back at him with one eyebrow raised. ¡°Are you asking because of Olivia?¡± The way she looked at him, and her accusatory tone, made his cheeks redden slightly and he didn¡¯t make eye contact. ¡°Not just her, but everyone. It seems like no matter who I get near, they are always trying to use me in some way.¡± Victoria¡¯s expression softened. ¡°It¡¯s difficult to say, good people usually don¡¯t live long, and true friends are an uncommon thing.¡± She let out a sigh. ¡°Most would say that it isn¡¯t worth trusting anyone, but I would disagree¡­ It seems that I will need to make some adjustments to your training schedule.¡± Victoria grinned at him. ¡°But if you¡¯re talking about Melisandre and Olivia specifically, they are safe. There are few people I trust as much as Melisandre, and she wouldn¡¯t allow Olivia to do anything to you as my apprentice.¡± Her smile seemed to turn mischievous. ¡°In fact, if you got to close to either of them, you would be far more likely to catch a disease than a dagger in the back.¡± Seeing Victoria¡¯s expression, Dante held in a groan. He had never been a part of such an uncomfortable conversation before. Chapter 66 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 66 The number of soldiers in Desas was surprising to say the least. Based on what he had seen after walking through the enormous front gate, and through the heavily guarded streets afterward, roughly nine out of every ten people in Desas had a combat Classification. It wasn¡¯t hard to pick them out, all of them were armed and had similar armbands. The streets weren¡¯t too crowded, so he and Victoria were able to walk side by side. ¡°What are the armbands for?¡± Victoria pointed to a particular patrolling guard, who had a four-colored armband. From top to bottom it was red, purple, blue, and green. ¡°The color on the bottom represents the mercenary group that the combatant is a direct member of. Every ascending color is the mercenary group that the lower is aligned to, and the highest armband is the warlord''s mercenary group. A general rule of thumb is that the fewer colors an armband has, the more power or influence that combatant has.¡± After looking around, he realized that all of the combatants in Desas had the red color on the top of their armbands, which meant that they were all mercenaries that were at least aligned with the same warlord. ¡°Isn¡¯t that problematic? If the mercenary group that represents the purple color were to turn traitor, they would take all the groups under them away. The warlord would lose a massive force.¡± Victoria nodded. ¡°That¡¯s true, but it¡¯s actually the opposite of what really happens. Because the position isn¡¯t inherited, warlords gain power through direct subjugation. The purple mercenary group was likely headed by its own warlord until they were defeated and integrated into Auron¡¯s fighting force with one his leaders at its head.¡± That was a name he had never heard before. ¡°Auron?¡± ¡°Auron is the warlord that controls Desas. He¡¯s not necessarily one of the strongest warlords in the outer regions, but definitely the strongest in this area by far. His forces number close to half a million combatants in total.¡± Dante stopped walking. Half a million combatants, and not even one of the strongest warlords in the outer regions¡­ that was insane. Desas was massive, and definitely had a population in the tens of thousands, but a half million fighting force just seemed too large. Victoria saw his astonishment and nodded. ¡°Half a million isn¡¯t really too large. As a warlord¡¯s power grows, the number of people who are willing to oppose them decreases. Those who have a fighting force of several million are almost unstoppable, and are able to grow their forces through their influence alone. Usually, the only way to stop them is assassination. When that happens, the factions below them will fight each other for power, restarting the process.¡± The wastelands seemed chaotic, yet orderly. The lack of hereditary positions and stabilized power would result in heavy casualties, but those who survived would be far stronger. As they continued to move down the street, Victoria suddenly stopped, then turned to look at the surrounding building. Her eyes locked on to one of the inns. It was actually the nicest building he had seen since entering Desas. ¡°We are here.¡± He wasn¡¯t sure how she knew, but didn¡¯t doubt that she did. Following Victoria into the inn, they were immediately greeted by a smiling, middle-aged combatant by the door. ¡°Welcome to my inn young travelers. Could I interest the two of you in one of my finest rooms?¡± The innkeeper seemed to be confused. After all, he and Victoria did look somewhat similar in age, and from their lack of armbands and close proximity, it was clear that they traveled together. Victoria glared at the innkeeper. ¡°No, we are meeting someone here.¡± The innkeeper¡¯s smile slipped, and he looked somewhat embarrassed. ¡°My apologies, let me know if I may be of service.¡± Victoria didn¡¯t move another step, and didn¡¯t seem like she would. It seemed like they were going to wait until Melisandre came down on her own. ¡°I was wondering, where are all the non-combat Classifications?¡± Where he grew up in Alazel, and even in the surrounding cities, combat Classifications were somewhat rare compared to non-combat Classifications. But here, it seemed to be the complete opposite. ¡°Few non-combat Classifications are seen as useful in the wastelands. Those that aren¡¯t, are not preserved. After a few generations, those useless Classifications are less likely to appear because there is no one to pass them down to their descendants. This is in harsh contrast to the nobles territory where you grew up. There, the non-combat Classifications are protected by nobles for a multitude of reasons, but any fights between nobles result in much higher casualties of combat Classifications than in the wastelands.¡±The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Based on that, Classifications were far more hereditary than he thought. He knew that there was some inheritance, Alexander and Layla had told him so, but didn¡¯t think its influence was that large. ¡°Why are casualties so much higher in the noble¡¯s territory?¡± If anything, the constant fighting in the wastelands should result in far more deaths. Victoria shrugged. ¡°There is no loyalty in the wastelands. Combatants just follow the strong so that they may survive. From a warlords perspective, why kill your enemy when they will soon be a part of your fighting force? In contrast, when nobles fight, they will wipe out entire houses, and that includes combatants. If they didn¡¯t, they would fear retaliation.¡± Victoria had barely finished talking when he felt arms wrap around him from behind. Reacting without thinking, he pulled the dagger that was hidden in his sleeve, then stabbed at his attacker. Before the dagger even moved an inch, Victoria seemed to appear by his side and hold his wrist in place. Her hand was like an iron clamp, and he couldn¡¯t move it in the slightest. Then he heard a voice in his ear. ¡°I knew you wouldn¡¯t be able to keep playing hard to get.¡± Olivia¡¯s voice was barely a whisper, and he could feel her hot breath on his ear, sending a shiver down his spine. Olivia disentangled herself, then greeted Victoria with a charming smile. ¡°Master sent me down to bring the two of you up, please follow me.¡± Victoria followed Olivia to the staircase in the back of the main room, but he stood there for a brief moment, recollecting himself. Then, letting out a brief sigh, he followed the two of them. The room that Olivia led them to was on the third floor and seemed to be the largest and most luxurious, something that didn¡¯t surprise him at all. Inside, Melisandre was waiting for them, quickly running up to Victoria and embracing her. ¡°Vicky! It¡¯s so nice of you to stop by. I was wondering who was pestering me with the guilds signal.¡± She was most likely talking about the method that Victoria used to locate her. Victoria didn¡¯t look too thrilled to be embraced by Melisandre, but similarly to the last time, didn¡¯t push Melisandre off. Melisandre broke off the embrace, then looked Victoria up and down. ¡°Olivia, go show Dante around, Victoria and I have some catching up to do.¡± Hearing Melisandre¡¯s words, Olivia lit up with a smile, but he gave Victoria a pleading glance. Victoria just nodded, indicating for him to do as Melisandre said. With another sigh, he allowed Olivia to grab his hand and drag him out of the room. As she pulled him out, Olivia looked back at him with a slightly mischievous smile, but had the eyes of a predator. ¡°Want me to show you my room?¡±
Victoria Nix As soon as Olivia and Dante left the room Melisandre¡¯s playful expression disappeared, giving way to a warm smile. ¡°What has it been, twenty-five years?¡± Victoria walked over to one of the couches in the room and sat. ¡°Twenty-seven.¡± Melisandre sat on the adjacent couch across from her. ¡°Twenty-seven years in the outer regions¡­ does Dustin know?¡± She felt her face involuntarily tighten into a frown. Melisandre never wasted much time. ¡°No, and he won¡¯t.¡± Melisandre let out a sigh. ¡°I suppose he won¡¯t¡­ I¡¯m guessing this is all Lucas¡¯ doing?¡± Victoria gave a curt nod in assent. Without Lucas¡¯ help, she would have never gotten away. It was strange that a conversation with Melisandre was awkward, but it was wishful thinking to assume that nothing would change between them after so many years. Especially when she was supposed to be dead. ¡°So, Olivia?¡± Melisandre had a pleased smile on her face. ¡°I had Dax keep an eye out for new guild members with my Classification. You know how it changes one¡¯s natural disposition.¡± Melisandre shrugged. ¡°It is hard for anyone, especially someone in such a remote area, to go through such a harsh change in their personality. When Dax found someone, I immediately headed to the Outer region to accept her as my apprentice.¡± She let out a sigh. ¡°I was going to wait for the dungeon boss in Dead Man¡¯s Range to reform before returning, but it seems that someone else has claimed it.¡± Victoria looked at Melisandre apologetically. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m currently far too restricted. This is the only dungeon of quality that Dante can use.¡± Melisandre waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll just pull a few favors when I return to the guild.¡± Victoria hesitated. ¡°Speaking of favors, I need one. Well, actually two.¡± In answer, one of Melisandre¡¯s eyebrows raised. ¡°Please don¡¯t mention anything about me or my apprentice to anyone.¡± Melisandre immediately nodded, and Victoria let out a sigh of relief. ¡°I also need someone to teach Dante how to handle himself around people, which is something that you could teach him far better than I ever could.¡± Melisandre didn¡¯t answer immediately, she seemed to mull it over for a moment. ¡°I would never mention to anyone that you are apprenticing an archaic, but the church isn¡¯t as weak as it once was. I know you don¡¯t have much to lose if you train him, but if they find out that I helped him¡­¡± Victoria frowned. ¡°The church doesn¡¯t bother with the outer regions. If they did, I wouldn¡¯t be alive. No one will know you helped him.¡± ¡°That may be the usual case, but his aura is too strong. An inquisitor would be able to hunt him from hundreds of miles away, and neither of us could teach him how to suppress it.¡± Victoria gave a reluctant nod. ¡°True, but it won¡¯t be a problem until he tries to go into the inner regions though.¡± Melisandre rubbed her eyes. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll help him, if only for your sake.¡± Chapter 67 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 67 ¡°Let¡¯s go in this one!¡± Dante looked at the shop, then back at an excited Olivia. ¡°No.¡± Olivia began to pout, her expression downcast. ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± He looked back to the shop. It was a lace shop, which wouldn¡¯t have been so bad on its own, but the lack of anything for sale aside from undergarments gave him misgivings. ¡°If you want to go in there, I¡¯ll wait for you here.¡± Olivia walked toward him and latched onto his free arm. ¡°But who will tell me if what I try on looks good or not?¡± She let out a sigh. ¡°You¡¯re not acting like much of a gentleman.¡± He didn¡¯t bother to respond to her words, she had said the same thing when he refused to go ¡®see her room¡¯. That refusal had led to his current predicament; shopping. Shopping wasn¡¯t nearly as fun as he thought it would be, they had only been in one shop thus far, and Olivia forced him to try on different clothes for hours. Every time he came out of the changing room Olivia would giggle with the store owner, and the two of them would exchange remarks that made his cheeks flare red. He had thought that they were just killing time so that Victoria and Melisandre could talk, but was proven wrong when Olivia bought all of the outfits that she liked the best, and they were expensive. Something about Olivia spending so much money on him, and the mirthful expression of the store owner as she paid, was demeaning. He and Olivia continued to walk down the wealthy merchant''s district of Desas. The district was surprisingly well kept and seemed exceedingly wealthy. Even those who were walking the streets and perusing the shops were finely dressed in silk. It was definitely a clear cut off from the other areas of Desas that he had walked through with Victoria, and the two of them even had to go through a guarded gate to enter the area. He was actually surprised that Melisandre and Olivia weren¡¯t staying in the district. Dante glanced down at Olivia, who was still holding onto his arm. She somehow managed to fully press herself against his body as they walked without making it look awkward. ¡°Why is this area of the Desas so much nicer than the others?¡± A disparity in city districts was somewhat standard, but the disparity in Desas was a bit much. The difference was almost night and day. ¡°The entirety of Desas is basically a garrison with a city inside of it, and this is the city.¡± Olivia gestured to the different shops and finely dressed people with her free hand. ¡°As a powerful warlord¡¯s headquarters, it¡¯s one of the safest locations in the wastelands. Anyone with a rare skill or a decent amount of wealth would be drawn to it. Oh, our masters are finished talking.¡± Dante looked at her curiously. ¡°How do you know?¡± Olivia held out one of her dainty hands. ¡°The guild ring. It has enchantments that allow it to receive signals from other guild rings if left active.¡± That was news to him. He slipped his own ring off the hand holding the shopping bags, then inspected it. Sure enough, there were three intricate enchantments on the inside of the band. The fact that someone could squeeze an enchantment onto such a small ring was somewhat surprising.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°The largest enchantment will activate the ring, allowing you to receive signals. The second enchantment, when working in conjunction to the first, will alert other guild members of your presence when you are in close proximity, and the third and smallest enchantment will send out a signal to all nearby guild members when activated.¡± He fed world essence into the largest enchantment, and it lit up. To his surprise, it stayed activated, even after he stopped feeding world essence into it. Then, he placed it back on his finger. It was somewhat surprising that Victoria had never mentioned that the ring was enchanted before. She likely didn¡¯t think that he would have much contact with other guild members. ¡°This is what a signal feels like.¡± As Olivia said the words, he could feel a tingling sensation in the finger that the ring was on. ¡°And this is what it feels like when someone has the second enchantment activated near you.¡± Olivia seemed to activate the second enchantment, and he felt a strange pressure coming from the ring. It was now obvious how Victoria had found Melisandre so easily. He felt another tingling sensation, this one slightly stronger, and Olivia tugged on his arm. ¡°Let¡¯s go. That¡¯s the third signal Melisandre sent. She must be in a hurry.¡± The change in Olivia¡¯s attitude when Melisandre signaled to them was slightly surprising, even her playful and seductive demeanor quickly disappeared. Olivia took charge, dragging him through the merchant district, past the guarded gate, and then down the regular streets until they were back at the inn where Olivia and Melisandre were staying. When they got there, they found Victoria and Melisandre in the main room, and seeing Victoria with her travel pack on, he let out a breath of relief. He had been worried that they would be staying overnight. He wasn¡¯t sure what he was afraid of, he wasn¡¯t even sure what he would have wanted to happen, but for some reason, the mere thought of being in close proximity to Olivia was frightening. As soon as he walked into the inn, Victoria looked him over. ¡°I¡¯m leaving.¡± Dante nodded. ¡°Just give me one minute, I need to run up to Melisandre¡¯s room and grab my travel bag.¡± He immediately headed toward the stairwell, not wanting to delay their journey. It was already starting to get dark, and he had no idea how far they would need to travel before making camp for the night. ¡°You¡¯re not coming, Melisandre will continue your training until I return.¡± Dante froze mid-step on the stairwell, then turned to look at Victoria. ¡°Huh?¡± Victoria actually had a slightly amused smile on her face. ¡°I need to make a few arrangements to finish your training, and find some medicinal plants that will help your fox develop properly.¡± She gestured toward her travel pack, which had an almost sedated umbra fox inside. For some reason, as soon as she touched the fox, it had completely calmed down. ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a few weeks.¡± ¡°Yay!¡± Arms suddenly wrapped around him, but he didn¡¯t react. Victoria was really going to leave him with the two of them? Olivia¡¯s voice was in his ear. ¡°Think of all the fun we will have together.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not serious, right?¡± ¡°I am. I¡¯ll finish things faster if I go alone. I wrote down a few instructions for you, if you follow them, you¡¯ll be fine.¡± Victoria walked over to him and handed him an envelope. ¡°I¡¯ll see you in a few weeks.¡± Dante watched in shock as Victoria practically disappeared. A shadow seemed to envelop her, then the shadow flashed out of the room with incredible speed. He was alone, with Olivia and Melisandre. Melisandre smiled at him charmingly. ¡°We are going to have so much fun. Why don¡¯t you go upstairs and grab your things? Olivia and I will make arrangements with the innkeeper.¡± Olivia pouted. ¡°Why can¡¯t he stay in my room?¡± He could feel a shiver go down his spine. Melisandre rolled her eyes. ¡°Control yourself, Olivia.¡± Olivia immediately retracted her arms from him. ¡°Yes, Master. My apologies.¡± Olivia¡¯s reaction was slightly surprising, but in a good way. Giving Melisandre a grateful glance, Dante walked up the stairwell. On his way to Melisandre¡¯s room he opened Victoria¡¯s letter, only reading two sentences before releasing a groan. Dante, Watch yourself around Olivia. She and Melisandre both have a variant Classification ¨C the Succubus Classification. Olivia is still adapting to it, and may be unable to control her actions. If you sleep with her, not only will you lose any unspent world essence, but you will also be ¡®charmed¡¯. Have fun, Victoria Chapter 68 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 68 Melisandre¡¯s attack smacked against his mind with devastating momentum. The pain was reminiscent of what he felt in the predatory dungeon. Succumbing almost seemed like the best decision at this point. He continued to revolve the mana in his mind, trying to press Melisandre¡¯s attack back, but the attack only seemed to burrow further into his barrier every time she sent it forward. In the periphery of his vision, Olivia twitched, and he flinched, still on edge from the note he read the night before. The momentary lapse in concentration allowed Melisandre¡¯s attack to shoot directly into his mind. Thankfully, there was no pain. There was just Melisandre. Perfect, beautiful Melisandre. She was- ¡°For your first try, that was somewhat shocking.¡± As Melisandre spoke, his mind cleared, and he could now focus on what was really happening around him. ¡°Not really, I only lasted a few seconds against you.¡± Olivia had both arms crossed over her chest as she pouted. ¡°Stop being modest after you completely ignored my attack.¡± That was true, he was happy to discover that the glove still aided him against mental attacks, Melisandre¡¯s and Olivia¡¯s were just a different type. Instead of the brutal frontal attack that the dungeon boss had used against him, their attack was almost the complete opposite. Their attacks almost stealthily slipped past someone¡¯s mental barriers, sliding in without giving the slightest warning that they are even there. Defending against Olivia¡¯s attack was easy. As soon as he discovered it, he could stop it effortlessly. Finding it was the hard part. After blocking out Olivia¡¯s attack a few times, Melisandre decided it was her turn, and Melisandre was unstoppable. Dante watched Olivia warily. ¡°I wasn''t modest, I couldn¡¯t move her attack back at all.¡± Melisandre nodded. ¡°Our attack works through surprise. It¡¯s only natural for Dante to be able to stop yours when he knows it is coming. I think we will stop training now, we have a long day ahead of us.¡± Her words seemed to placate Olivia, but Dante couldn¡¯t help but frown. They had only been training for half an hour at the most. ¡°Warlord Auron¡¯s celebratory feast is tonight, and we are expected to be there.¡± Melisandre gave him a pointed look. ¡°We have a lot of work to do if we are going to make you presentable.¡± Dante cleared his throat. ¡°Do you think I could, um, not go?¡± Melisandre looked aghast. ¡°Absolutely not! All of the eligible ladies of Desas will be there, and you have a reputation to uphold as my temporary apprentice.¡± It seemed that the feast would be a tribulation. ¡°Olivia, take Dante to a blacksmith and have him properly armed.¡± Dante opened his mouth to say that he already had weapons, then stopped himself. It was unlikely that his opinion on the matter would influence things much. ¡°I¡¯ve meant to ask. Olivia, why isn¡¯t your sister here? Shouldn¡¯t the two of you be training together?¡± Hannah seemed normal, and at the moment, normal sounded almost angelic. He wasn¡¯t ready for the reaction to his question. Both Olivia and Melisandre froze. Then Olivia quickly stood up. ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you in the main lobby.¡± Olivia practically ran for the door, tearing it open and stepping out of it as quickly as she could. Shortly after, they could hear the sound of the door to Olivia¡¯s adjacent room slam open, then closed. Dante turned to Melisandre, unsure of what was going on. ¡°Did I say some-¡± Melisandre crossed the room in an instant, then smacked him in the head. Hard. ¡°Next time you ask a question, use a little tact.¡± Melisandre was staring daggers at him, and she seemed to be visibly restraining herself. Dante spoke carefully, doing his best not to offend further. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I really don¡¯t understand what I did wrong.¡±The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Melisandre continued to glare, then let out a sigh. ¡°It isn¡¯t your fault, Olivia is just going through a difficult time. Just¡­ don¡¯t mention her sister again.¡± Dante looked at Melisandre for a moment, unsure of how to respond. ¡°Could you explain why? I saw the two of them together when I met Olivia.¡± He couldn¡¯t understand how he should have known that the subject was sensitive. ¡°The only reason they were together was because I arranged it with Hannah¡¯s master. Otherwise, Hannah wouldn¡¯t have even acknowledged Olivia¡¯s existence.¡± ¡°Um, could you explain why?¡± The glare was back. ¡°Did Victoria not explain it to you?¡± Instead of answering, he dug through his pocket for Victoria¡¯s letter. After pulling it out, Dante handed it to Melisandre. He was more than happy to push the blame for the current situation onto someone else. Melisandre scanned the letter and began to mutter angrily. Then she looked up from the letter, the anger now focused on him. ¡°Victoria hasn¡¯t changed much. It¡¯s no wonder she left you with me.¡± He wasn¡¯t sure how to respond, he felt trapped. ¡°Do you even know what a variant Classification is?¡± Melisandre¡¯s words were almost venomous. Dante shook his head, he hadn¡¯t attributed much importance to that word in Victoria¡¯s letter. ¡°A variant Classification generally has a chance to be acquired after fulfilling certain conditions prior to receiving your Classifications. They almost always alter the personality of the person who receives them, and they can¡¯t be leveled like other Classifications.¡± Variant Classifications were interesting, and he was already connecting the dots in his head, Victoria¡¯s letter made a lot more sense. ¡°To even have a chance of getting the Succubus Classification that Olivia and I have, a girl needs to kill a specialized combatant that is forcefully taking her virginity prior to receiving her Classifications.¡± Melisandre¡¯s candid words knocked the air out of him. That was way too sudden, and the strange detachment in Melisandre¡¯s tone spoke of deep emotional trauma. How was he even supposed to respond to that? ¡°Wouldn¡¯t-¡± He struggled to find the words. ¡°I mean, shouldn¡¯t she- Shouldn¡¯t you-¡± He stopped talking, there was no way to respond to Melisandre. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we hate being around men?¡± Dante nodded, that was what he wanted to ask. After that, he didn¡¯t see how they could even stand to be around the opposite sex, much less act the way they do. Even with a Classification¡¯s influence. ¡°Generally, we do. But we can¡¯t fight our nature. Most who receive the Succubus Classification either commit suicide or put themselves in harm¡¯s way purposefully.¡± ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t Hannah understand? I mean, if anything, she should be supporting her sister.¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t that simple. Hannah and Olivia were both raped by the same person, at the same time. That hatred may have brought them together at one point, but Olivia¡¯s change in behavior after getting her Classification destroyed any relationship they had. Add that devastation to any mixed feelings she has because of her Classification, and you may understand why what you said may have hurt her so much.¡± She said each pointed word bluntly, likely trying to make him feel worse. He did, and he deserved it too. Even if there was no way he could have known, he felt incredibly bad for even bringing Hannah up. Melisandre stood. ¡°I don¡¯t care if you are Victoria¡¯s apprentice. If Olivia harms herself because of you, you will be held responsible.¡± Melisandre exited the room, leaving him alone with his thoughts. He could hear the door to Olivia¡¯s adjacent room open again, likely Melisandre going to comfort her. A Classification that influences someone¡¯s personality¡­ He had first-hand experience of what that might be like, and it was horrible. In his case, it wasn¡¯t even that bad. He may have made poor decisions because of his glove¡¯s influence, but Olivia¡¯s Classification was likely making her want something that repulsed her. And that was without mentioning the social stigma that her actions might bring her. Even her sister didn¡¯t want to be around her anymore. After a few minutes, he heard the sound of Olivia¡¯s door opening. Dante shot to his feet, then headed straight for the hallway. He was going to apologize, but upon opening the door, he was greeted by the sight of Melisandre carefully shutting Olivia¡¯s door. Melisandre saw his expression and seemed to approve. ¡°She is fine. This happens occasionally, it¡¯s not really your fault. I was just upset and lashed out.¡± She let out a sigh. ¡°Just give her a few minutes to calm down, and she will be out.¡± Melisandre walked down the stairwell. Leaving him alone in the hallway. He considered waiting for Olivia in the lobby, but decided to stay where he was. Letting out a sigh, he sat against the wall of the narrow hallway and waited. He didn¡¯t think he could feel any worse, but was quickly proven wrong. The muffled sound of crying would occasionally leak into the hallway. The guilt was overwhelming. Eventually, it stopped, and he continued to wait, but Olivia still didn¡¯t come out. It was a few minutes later when her door slowly opened, revealing Olivia. She looked like a mess. Her usually neatly curled blond hair was in disarray, as though she tried to quickly make herself presentable after ruining it, and her eyes were red and puffy. When she saw him, Olivia smiled, and not seductively like she usually did. Her smile made him feel even worse. ¡°Olivia I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to-¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. It was my fault.¡± She rubbed one of her eyes and sniffed. ¡°And this stupid Classification¡¯s. It seems like it makes all my emotions conflict with each other.¡± She said it jokingly, but the words came out full of bitterness. Dante looked at her hesitantly. ¡°Still, I should have been more careful.¡± Olivia stepped forward and latched onto one of his free arms. ¡°It¡¯s fine, really.¡± She continued to smile, but it seemed forced. ¡°I should be the one apologizing, I wasted so much of our time. Let¡¯s go.¡± He was unsure of how to respond as she led him down the stairwell. Chapter 69 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 69 As Olivia led him down the rougher streets of Desas, he pondered over his ¡®situation¡¯, and concluded that it was problematic. After reading Victoria¡¯s letter, he had decided to keep as much distance between himself and Olivia as possible. He was only a few hundred world essence away from either specializing his Chronomancer or Revenant Classification, and there was no way he would risk that by being too close Olivia. Unfortunately, keeping his distance no longer seemed to be an option. It wasn¡¯t just that he was worried about how distancing himself might affect Olivia¡¯s precarious mental stability, even if that did come into play. No, it was Melisandre. He had seen few mothers that were as protective as Melisandre, and her reaction to what happened changed things drastically. It seemed that if he bothered Olivia in any way, she would bring her wrath down upon him. It was likely the shared experience. Given their past, he couldn¡¯t fault Melisandre¡¯s behavior, he just needed to find a way to navigate around the two of them safely. They came upon the gate to the merchant¡¯s district of Desas and were waved in without being checked, just like the day before. They continued on through the merchant¡¯s district, only stopping periodically so Olivia could check the new wares that were being presented at the front of the various stores. After replaying the conversation he had with Melisandre in his head, one part stuck out to him. Melisandre had said, ¡®It¡¯s no wonder she left you with me.¡¯ In other words, Victoria hadn¡¯t just left him with Melisandre so she could run errands. Clearly there was something that he was expected to learn, he just needed to find out what that was. So far, he had already learned how to block surprise mental attacks, but he didn¡¯t think that is what he was supposed to be learning. Victoria had made it seem like she could teach him that. In fact, there was no reason not to ask. It wasn¡¯t as though it was some hidden secret. Dante glanced down to Olivia, who was still latched onto his arm. Her complexion was already far better than it was only minutes ago, and her hair somehow seemed to be less messy. She seemed to have made a full recovery. ¡°Do you know why Victoria left me with Melisandre?¡± For the first time in their walk, Olivia allowed him to lead as she thought it over. ¡°Maybe¡­¡± ¡°Maybe?¡± Olivia nodded. ¡°Maybe.¡± Dante cleared his throat. ¡°Care to explain?¡± Olivia visibly hesitated. ¡°I think I know the reason, but I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯m allowed to tell you. Everything that master tells me is supposed to be kept secret unless she says otherwise.¡± It seemed as though Melisandre had her own secrets that only Olivia was privy to. It just meant he would need to ask Melisandre when he got the chance. Dante gave a nod in reply. ¡°Fair enough.¡± Seeing his response, Olivia¡¯s face lit up with a smile and she began to tug on his arm. ¡°Let¡¯s go! We are almost there.¡± Dante allowed himself to be pulled by Olivia. She hadn¡¯t been seductive since her breakdown, and he was hoping that it would be a permanent change, toward him at least. Truthfully, he didn¡¯t mind Olivia. True, he found her behavior to be a bit much. But that was before learning about her Classification. ¡°Why are we going in here?¡± It definitely wasn¡¯t a blacksmith¡¯s shop, that was for certain. Olivia rolled her eyes. ¡°You need to be properly armed for the feast, obviously.¡± He glanced back at the shop. He couldn¡¯t see much through the windows, but the weapons he could see looked more like decorations than any type of functional weapon. ¡°Why would I need to be properly armed for a celebratory feast?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t go to a warlord¡¯s feast unarmed, no one would respect you. Besides, what if you catch the eye of a beautiful woman and you are challenged for her?¡± ¡°Come again?¡± Olivia looked as though she were explaining the obvious to a moron. ¡°You don¡¯t look bad, so I¡¯m sure you will attract some attention.¡± Dante cleared his throat. ¡°I was asking about challenge part.¡± ¡°Oh, that. It¡¯s just standard competition. A bunch of men trying to show women that they are the ones worth sleeping with.¡± He could swear that there was a tinge of disgust in Olivia¡¯s hollow tone, but that could have just been his imagination. Giving a shrug of resignation, Dante walked up to the store¡¯s door and held it open for Olivia. There was no need to make things more difficult than they needed to be. He was awarded with a smile, and the two of them walked in. They were greeted by a finely dressed, small-framed man with a narrow face who must have been in his early twenties, and an otherwise empty store. The lack of other customers was clearly a bad sign, and he was pretty sure that the narrow-faced man wasn¡¯t a blacksmith. The narrow-faced man walked up to the two of them with a humble, yet confident, smile. ¡°Greetings miss.¡± He gave a low bow for Olivia, then turned towards Dante and nodded. ¡°Sir. My name is Ezra, please let me know if I may be of service.¡±A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Olivia spun toward Dante. ¡°What type of weapon do you want? They have a variety of daggers, but you also used a sword when you fought Carter, so it¡¯s your choice.¡± Dante took a moment to look around the store. It was divided weapon by type, with swords seeming to take up a majority of the shop. He glanced longingly at the spears, after seeing what the second level of the spectral attunement could do, he was eager to get his hands on one. ¡°I usually use a sword and dagger, but maybe we can just look around?¡± Olivia seemed to think it over. ¡°I suppose¡­ But we are in a bit of a rush today. Let¡¯s look for your weapons first, and browse after if we have the time.¡± That seemed almost unreasonably reasonable. The two of them made their way toward the sword section, and he was almost immediately overwhelmed. There had to be over fifty swords on display, and none of them were anything alike. Even the handles were different, which seemed almost overwhelmingly stupid. He immediately dismissed any sword that had a curved handle from his mind. The hilts were all ornate, either created from intricate patterns or shaped into various creatures, and almost all of them were adorned with jewels. In his mind, the hilt¡¯s appearance didn¡¯t come into play, and they all seemed to have about the same basic shape and functionality. That left him with a large problem when looking at the rest. ¡°Um, what type of metal is the best?¡± They came in a variety of colors, and some of them just looked bizarre. He said the words to Olivia, but Ezra was quick to step in. ¡°Different metals have different purposes. The question isn¡¯t really which is best, but which would suit you the best. Although, what suits you best may be somewhat pricey.¡± Dante shrugged and looked at Olivia. He didn¡¯t have the money to pay for anything in the shop. Olivia had a pleased smile on her face. ¡°You can buy whatever you want, Melisandre gave me more than enough. You could even buy several if you wanted.¡± A light seemed to shine in Ezra¡¯s eyes when he heard Olivia¡¯s words, but then was quickly gone. They were likely going to be ripped off. Olivia didn¡¯t seem to notice, she just continued to smile happily. He had the distinct impression that she enjoyed buying things for him that he couldn¡¯t afford. Still, it wasn¡¯t as though he was the one that was paying. Whether or not they got a good deal wasn¡¯t really his problem. ¡°What would you recommend?¡± Ezra stepped forward and pulled a sword from its viewing stand, it was likely the most expensive one available. ¡°This sword just arrived from Warlord Auron¡¯s twice specialized Blacksmith. It is definitely unique.¡± Unique meant expensive. Ezra handed the sword to him, and he examined it. It was somewhat strange looking. The blade seemed to be made of standard steel, but there were tiny violet colored crystals scattered throughout. The handle was standard, and the hilt itself was an ornate violet color that matched the color of the small shards in the steel, yet was less decorative than most of the other hilts of weapons on display. Thankfully, there were no jewels anywhere on the weapon. The violet color looked a bit strange and over the top, but not overly so. Overall, he liked it. ¡°The sword is created with shards of chaos stone.¡± Hearing Ezra¡¯s words, he dropped the sword on impulse. It was snatched by the man just before it touched the ground, and he had the impression that Ezra had gotten his desired reaction. ¡°I assure you, good sir, that this weapon is completely safe.¡± Dante accepted the sword again, and Olivia looked at it curiously. ¡°Why would anyone want a sword made with chaos stones?¡± Hearing Olivia¡¯s question, Ezra gave a pleased smile. ¡°What an excellent question. This sword has a few different functions. For instance, stopping a world essence manipulated blade, and blocking the enchantments on an opponent¡¯s weapon. It also cuts through mana shields like they are butter, and you would be hard-pressed to find a skill that it can¡¯t cut cleanly through.¡± Dante¡¯s eyes were wide as he looked at the sword. If even half of Ezra¡¯s pitch was true, it was far more useful than he would have imagined. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t the crystals in the sword create vulnerabilities in the blade?¡± ¡°Ah, an apt question. Fortunately, no. The Blacksmith that created the weapon specializes in fusing materials, and it went through the full process of strengthening with an artificer. The blade¡¯s structure will be able to take any damage you manage to inflict upon it.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll take it!¡± Olivia snagged the sword from his hand before he could even react. She seemed to be sold. He had a few more questions about the sword, but he wasn¡¯t the one paying. He watched Olivia as she slowly stroked each tiny crystal that was lodged in the blade. ¡°Did you buy it for me, or should I keep shopping?¡± Olivia broke out of her trance to look up at him. ¡°I fight with daggers.¡± She gave him a mischievous smile. ¡°Maybe you could teach me how to handle a sword.¡± Dante stared at Olivia expressionlessly, but his left eye twitched once. She was back. For the first time, Ezra seemed unsure of his place in the conversation. But after he didn¡¯t respond to Olivia for several seconds, Ezra cut in. ¡°The sword is exceedingly useful, but there are a few downsides. Namely, the lack of ability to be enchanted.¡± That caught his attention. ¡°You have enchanted swords?¡± Ezra stood a bit straighter. ¡°I would be more than happy to enchant any weapon that you purchase for a small fee.¡± ¡®Small fee¡¯ was likely a relative term. ¡°You are an Enchanter? What types of enchantments can you do?¡± Ezra smiled proudly. ¡°Not only am I an Enchanter, but I am an Enchanter that has specialized in weapon enchantments. I can do almost any tier 3 enchantments.¡± That was surprisingly impressive. The tier of an enchantment was based on the amount of world essence required to power the enchantment. Tier 2 enchantments were the standard, it was the threshold before essence crystals were required to power the enchantment. Not only would tier 3 enchantments be far more powerful, but the materials and skill required to make them were far greater than the tier 2. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t a tier 3 enchantment require essence crystals to power?¡± Ezra nodded. ¡°Of course, but there are several methods to circumvent that issue.¡± He gestured to a blade that had a light blue tint. ¡°Ethel steel can hold two enchantments before the integrity of the weapon is compromised. I could easily add a second enchantment that draws in and stores world essence to help power the first.¡± He gestured to another sword that was pitch black. ¡°Mazus steel will passively draw in world essence when any enchantment on it is powered.¡± ¡°And what type of enchantments can you add¡­¡± Ezra seemed to be too lost in his explanation to see his expression. ¡°Like I said, all kinds. Heat, cold, gravity, poison, world essence gathering, paralyzing, sharpness, fortification, and even attacking enchantments.¡± He could barely hear Ezra¡¯s words. He was too busy calculating the amount of world essence required to specialize his Blademancer Classification again¡­ and mentally bashing himself in the head. He should have upgraded his Create Blade ability. It was becoming rather obvious that the short week he spent in the enchantment class in the academy wasn¡¯t long enough to learn everything he needed to know. To his side, Olivia snapped her fingers. ¡°Oh! That reminds me.¡± She pulled a piece of paper out of her cleavage. ¡°Master wrote down a few suggestions for you earlier this morning.¡± Dante took the paper from Olivia and read it, then handed it to Ezra. ¡°I¡¯ll take these.¡± Ezra read it, and his face lit up with a rather large grin. ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll have everything ready to pick up in a few hours.¡± Chapter 70 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 70 Dante looked into the mirror. ¡°How?¡± He could see Melisandre¡¯s coy smile in the mirror¡¯s reflection. ¡°A trained eye.¡± Looking at the perfect fitting suit in the mirror, he couldn¡¯t help but acknowledge Melisandre¡¯s ¡®trained eye¡¯. It was hard to believe that she could have it put together without even measuring him. True, the shoulders were a bit stiff, and the sleeve¡¯s cuffs were slightly baggier than he would have preferred on the coat, but apparently, that was all for the looks. The slim fitting black suit with white trim seemed to be perfectly snug in every other section of his body. ¡°It goes without saying that it fits, but you didn¡¯t put on the glove.¡± Dante looked down at the strange glove. He had tried to put it on, but couldn¡¯t understand how to wear it. ¡°Could you help me put it on?¡± Melisandre nodded. ¡°Fine, but pay attention.¡± He got it started by wearing the actual glove section on his left hand, which looked generic, but allowed Melisandre to deal with the dangling wires and straps of leather. Melisandre grabbed the strips of leather and began carefully wrapping them around his wrist, threading the wires through the strips carefully as she went. He tried to remember the process, but the speed that she assembled it - and the sheer number of steps required - made memorizing it close to impossible. In the span of only a few minutes, Melisandre was finished. She placed a spare dagger into it and began to instruct him on how to use it. ¡°Fold your hand toward your wrist until the wire catches the hook.¡± He did as she instructed, and there was a slight click noise as the taught wire caught the hook. ¡°Now, snap your hand back quickly and catch the dagger.¡± Dante snapped his hand back and felt the taut wires give, shooting the dagger out. He quickly grabbed it before it escaped his reach. It wasn¡¯t nearly as smooth as it could have been with his manipulate blade, but the lack of mana drain was nice. ¡°Unfortunately, this is one of the guild¡¯s more rudimentary gloves, so you¡¯ll need to manually reset it after each use.¡± It definitely wasn¡¯t the method that Victoria used, her movements were far more fluent when she drew a dagger. Melisandre stepped forward and reset the mechanism, and he was happy to see how simple it was compared to assembling it. She just adjusted two wires, then reengaged the dagger catch. ¡°Oh! That reminds me. While you were getting dressed, the weapons that you ordered arrived. I was pleased to see that you took at least one of my suggestions.¡± There was clear resentment in Melisandre¡¯s tone. ¡°Your other ¡®suggestions¡¯ were idiotic.¡± Melisandre was taken aback. ¡°I think you would have looked far better with shorter hair, and a touch of makeup to clear up your complexion wouldn¡¯t have hurt.¡± Dante rolled his eyes. It was bad enough that he had to get a manicure and pedicure with Olivia, there was no way he was going to feminize himself further with makeup. Besides, he did get his hair trimmed, Melisandre was just upset that he hadn¡¯t followed the instructions that she sent with Olivia. ¡°By the way, I had a question that I was hoping you could answer.¡± One of Melisandre¡¯s eyebrows raised. ¡°Oh?¡±Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°Why did Victoria leave me with you?¡± Melisandre paused for a fraction of a second, then shrugged. ¡°She wants me to teach you how to handle yourself around others. Go collect Olivia, I need to get ready.¡± After getting the answer to his question, he didn¡¯t know what to think. At first he was surprised, then he remembered the conversation he had with Victoria on their way to Desas. It seemed that his offhand remark to Victoria about knowing who to trust had drastically changed his training, and he couldn¡¯t help but feel grateful. Still, Melisandre didn¡¯t seem to be too worried about training him. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we be doing that instead of going to a feast then?¡± Melisandre waved her hand dismissively. ¡°We¡¯ll get around to it. Now, get out.¡± Somewhat disgruntled, Dante walked out of the room, grabbed the bundle of weapons, and then went to check on Olivia - per Melisandre¡¯s instructions. He only had to knock on her door a single time before it swung open, and upon seeing Olivia, he couldn¡¯t help but freeze in place. Olivia looked absolutely stunning. Her form-fitting red colored dress clung to her curves snugly, forming to her figure almost perfectly until it reached her accentuated waist and flared out into a skirt that reached the floor. And Despite the cleavage that she showed, it looked nothing but classy. It was all highlighted by her makeup, which perfectly matched the red theme, and her blond curls, which were tied back into an intricate braid. Olivia saw his expression and smiled charmingly. ¡°So, how do I look?¡± After checking to make sure Olivia hadn¡¯t used a mental attack on him, Dante cleared his throat and broke out of his trance. ¡°Honestly, you look stunning.¡± ¡°How gentlemanly.¡± Olivia¡¯s charming smile turned into a mischievous one as she looked down at the bundle of weapons he was holding. ¡°Want to come in and show off your sword?¡± Dante let out a sigh. That moment was ruined. ¡°I would, but I think we should wait for Melisandre. Why don¡¯t I show you the new weapons out here?¡± Olivia began to pout. ¡°Fine.¡± He pulled the sword and two daggers out of the bundle. As suggested by Melisandre, the sword and one of the daggers had the blue tint that symbolized Ethel steel. Both were etched with intricate enchantment runes and lines, and both were enchanted twice. Olivia grabbed the sword. ¡°Wow, it¡¯s so pretty!¡± Reluctantly, he had to agree. Something about the gold lion with ruby eyes that was crafted into a pommel really did bother him though. It just seemed so pretentious and eye-catching. Both the sword and dagger had one tier 2 world essence gathering enchantment, they would make his world essence manipulation far more proficient. The sword also had a tier two poison enchantment. Apparently, it was the best enchantment for a drawn-out fight and had a stacking effect, where each cut with the enchantment activated would further poison the enemy. The parrying dagger¡¯s tier 2 enchantment was a gravity enchantment. It wasn¡¯t his first choice, but Melisandre¡¯s note said that it would allow him to block attacks from opponents with much higher strength. The second dagger was completely black. The Mazus steel allowed for a single tier 3 enchantment, and for his hidden blade, Melisandre advised a tier 3 paralysis enchantment. Apparently, a tier 3 paralysis enchantment would be effective on anyone with less than 30 Constitution, stunning them for several seconds. It was more than enough time to deal with almost anyone. Of course, Olivia was only interested in the sword. ¡°Now that you have two swords, which one will you use?¡± It was actually a fairly good question. Dante glanced down to the violet hilted sword that was in the scabbard on his waist. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, both of them have their uses.¡± The daggers were easy though, he quickly placed the parrying dagger in its designated location ¨C a hidden scabbard that Melisandre had added to his coat. And placed the black dagger into the mechanism on his left wrist. Olivia seemed to ponder over the swords as he stashed away the daggers. ¡°Why don¡¯t you just wear both?¡± That was definitely something he considered, but didn¡¯t think it would be acceptable. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that draw too much attention to me? I doubt many people walk around with two swords.¡± ¡°Actually, carrying two swords is currently in style in Desas. One sword for fighting, the other ornate, for the look.¡± That made things quite simple. Even if he didn¡¯t plan on getting into any fights during the feast, especially over a woman, it would be nice to carry the two swords with him to be safe. As Dante strapped on the second scabbard, and Olivia handed his sword back, the door to Melisandre¡¯s room opened, and this time, he was sure that he was the victim of a mental attack. Melisandre carried the same red theme, but her black hair and mature air combined with her far curvier figure put her far above Olivia. That wasn¡¯t to take away from how good Olivia looked, there was just no comparing the two. Melisandre saw gaping expression and smirked. ¡°I take it you approve?¡± Dante could only nod. Olivia poked him in the side. ¡°Next time, it would be polite to react to our appearances equally.¡± Again, he nodded silently. Melisandre looked delighted, she seemed to feed off of their reactions. ¡°Warlord Auron¡¯s carriage is already waiting outside, let¡¯s go.¡± Chapter 71 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 71 ¡°Is your charmed going to be there tonight, Olivia?¡± Olivia¡¯s smile tightened. ¡°I think so, master.¡± Melisandre nodded. ¡°Tonight will be a good opportunity to handle your needs.¡± Olivia gave a slight nod of assent, but otherwise didn¡¯t respond. It seemed her excitement from dressing up for the feast had been crushed. Dante watched the exchange awkwardly. He didn¡¯t think that the carriage ride would be so uncomfortable. He cleared his throat. ¡°What does charming someone do?¡± ¡°It basically just makes someone fall severely in love with us, but it slowly wears off over the course of a few months.¡± Melisandre¡¯s offhanded answer left a lot to be desired. It definitely left him wondering what it meant to severely fall in love with someone. Glancing out of the carriage, he saw that they were pulling into a massive manor. He couldn¡¯t help but thank the Goddess that the carriage ride was almost over. ¡°So, couldn¡¯t you guys just, uh, ¡®charm¡¯ anyone that you want to control?¡± Melisandre gave a nod. ¡°That is the general idea. It becomes a bit problematic when two people who interact with each other are charmed by the same. They won¡¯t stop trying to kill each other until the effect wears off, or one of them dies.¡± That did seem rather¡­ problematic. The carriage came to a stop, and Olivia immediately hopped out without a word. Seeing her strange behavior, Dante looked at Melisandre questioningly. Melisandre shrugged. ¡°She may always seem eager, but that is more of a kneejerk reaction. It will be better when she gets it out. Just give her some space tonight.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Melisandre let out a sigh. ¡°Our urges buildup if they aren¡¯t fulfilled, which is why Olivia hasn¡¯t had much control recently. Once she takes care of it, she will be more herself for a few days.¡± Without another word, Melisandre slid out of the carriage. Dante watched her leave silently. It was definitely an uncomfortable carriage ride. Letting out a sigh, he followed Melisandre out. Upon stepping out, he was surprised to see that attendants were waiting to lead them inside the manor, and that Olivia had already disappeared. ¡°Where did Olivia go?¡± ¡°She will meet us inside.¡± Melisandre¡¯s tone brooked no argument, so he dismissed Olivia from his mind. It wasn¡¯t as though he didn¡¯t have his own problems. Dante looked around, taking in his surroundings for the first time. The manor itself was surprisingly extravagant for the wastelands, even in comparison to the wealthy merchant¡¯s district. It wasn¡¯t the manor itself that surprised him, it wouldn¡¯t have stood out much if it was located in the academy, it was the art. He saw several different statues, and several of them were next to the enchantment powered fountains that were scattered throughout the massive courtyard. Strangely, all of them showed a combatant killing his enemies. Even more strangely, it was the same combatant in every statue. One statue that caught his interest, in particular, was the one that seemed to be the centerpiece. It showed that combatant running his sword through his enemy, both of them were severely injured, and both of them were bleeding heavily. The blood itself was just red water that was pumped through the statues with enchantments. It didn¡¯t look overly realistic, but he still found the entire thing to be unnerving.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Melisandre prodded him in the side to grab his attention. ¡°Keep your distance from me when we get inside. It will be a hassle to restrain Auron if he considers you to be a threat.¡± Dante froze. ¡°You charmed Warlord Auron?¡± Seeing his shock, Melisandre smirked. ¡°Of course, I always target the most powerful man in the area I¡¯m staying in.¡± Dante took two steps away from Melisandre. He had no interest in drawing the attention of the warlord at all, much less making him an enemy. The attendants led them through the strange courtyard and straight into the manor itself. After discovering that Warlord Auron was charmed by Melisandre, he wasn¡¯t surprised by the treatment that the two of them received. They stepped into the entryway, then immediately bypassed the line of people who were waiting to be announced by the Herald. It didn¡¯t stop the looks that the two of them got though. Melisandre was given adoring glances from the men, but the women seemed to glare daggers at her. After the attendant led them to the front of the line, he whispered into the ear of the Herald before rushing off. Dante took the opportunity to look inside the great hall. It looked standard, there was one massive table that shot down the center of the room, and several smaller ones surrounding it. People crammed into every inch of the smaller tables, but the longer table was far more spacious. To one side of the room, two men who couldn¡¯t be far into their twenties were fighting on a large square stage. They didn¡¯t use and skills, world essence, or mana manipulation, so the fight seemed to drag on without an end. The herald looked up at them. ¡°Are you ready, Mistress Melisandre?¡± Melisandre smiled charmingly and nodded. The Herald turned around and took a deep breath. ¡°Mistress Melisandre and her nephew have arrived!¡± His eyebrow quirked up when he heard that he was Melisandre¡¯s nephew, but he didn¡¯t have time to question how that happened. ¡°Melisandre!¡± The deep voice echoed through the great hall, and the entire room went silent, even the two fighting on the stage stopped. From the head of the large table, a single man in full armor stood and confidently walked over with a smile on his face. He looked oddly familiar. ¡°You look absolutely divine!¡± The man stepped closer and pulled Melisandre into an intimate embrace, kissing her delicately on the lips before pulling back reluctantly. Everyone in the room was looking at Melisandre adoringly, but after a single glance from the man, they all looked away. After breaking off from Melisandre, the man looked at Dante, as if noticing him for the first time. ¡°Who is this?¡± The man¡¯s face didn¡¯t visibly change, but his demeanor and the threat in his cold tone did. When the man¡¯s demeanor changed, Dante instantly recognized him. It was hard to tell when he looked kind and caring while gazing at Melisandre, but the man standing in front of him was the same combatant that was depicted in the statues outside. Those strong features and cropped hair may have looked familiar before, but when the man looked at him, there was no mistaking it. He no longer wondered who the man was, there was no doubt he was the warlord. Melisandre swatted Warlord Auron playfully. ¡°My, aren¡¯t we jealous? If you kill my nephew, my sister will never forgive you.¡± Warlord Auron turned back to Melisandre, and his expression immediately softened. ¡°Your nephew?¡± Melisandre gave Warlord Auron a flirtatious smile. ¡°Of course, don¡¯t you remember his sister, Olivia?¡± Warlord Auron cracked a charismatic grin and stepped toward him. Dante had to stop himself from putting distance between the two of them. For some reason, he had an overwhelming sense of peril just from being in Warlord Auron¡¯s presence. Warlord Auron patted him heavily on the shoulder with one of his gloved hands. ¡°A sturdy lad. I expect no less from Melisandre¡¯s nephew.¡± Warlord Auron threw an arm around his shoulder and winked at Melisandre before pulling him toward the large table. ¡°Are you a fighter, boy?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve fought a bit, but-¡± ¡°Excellent! I¡¯ve been looking for a green fighter to raise up as an officer, how does that sound?¡± As Warlord Auron spoke, he furtively glanced at Melisandre to gauge her reaction, and it was quite apparent that he was just doing whatever he could to please her. It seemed that this was what it meant to be severely in love, and he had no intention of stopping the man from being benevolent. After all, he didn¡¯t know how Warlord Auron would react if he made him look bad in front of Melisandre. Dante grinned. ¡°It would be an honor.¡± He was awarded with another rough pat on the shoulder. ¡°Excellent, truly excellent! We will discuss this later. For now, enjoy the feast!¡± Warlord Auron pressed him into a seat before sauntering back to Melisandre, and he wasn¡¯t surprised to see that he had been placed between two incredibly beautiful girls. One with black hair, the other with red. Both had incredibly refined features and were smiling at him roguishly. And although neither of them could hold a candle up to Melisandre or Olivia, they were still a cut above everyone else at the feast. He had been placed in the situation he was hoping to avoid, and he could practically feel the glares coming from all of the men in the room. Chapter 72 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 72 As they watched another two fighters go on stage, Charlotte turned to Evelyn and Dante. ¡°Thoughts?¡± Dante examined the two fighters. One was about average height and lanky, carrying a halberd onto the stage, the other was barrel-chested and carrying a sword. Of course, appearances didn¡¯t mean much when the fights were almost solely based on attributes and weapon skill. Skills, mana manipulation, and world essence manipulation weren¡¯t allowed. ¡°I¡¯ll go with the swordsman, if only because the halberd¡¯s range wouldn¡¯t be too effective once the swordsman gets up close. Is this a dispute, or just a standard duel?¡± ¡°Dispute.¡± The two of them turned to Evelyn, who was staring at the two combatants intently. Somehow, she hadn¡¯t guessed wrong yet. ¡°Neither of them seem to be that strong. I think the combatant with the halberd will win, but take a heavy cut before the fight it over.¡± He had found Evelyn and Charlotte''s company to be quite pleasant during the feast. He had his misgivings when Warlord Auron placed him between the two beauties, but they were surprisingly friendly, and in a normal way. The fight on the stage started, and the three of them watched with rapt attention. Disputes were always far more interesting - and barbaric - than the regular duels. They were between two combatants from Warlord Auron¡¯s army who had resolved to fight to the death for one reason or another. As fighters from smaller mercenary groups, their strength wasn¡¯t too great, but it was still far more interesting to watch them than it was to watch the regular duels. Unlike the disputes, the standard duels weren¡¯t organized prior to the feast. They were ¡®spontaneous.¡¯ Which generally meant two arrogant showoffs went on stage and took turns trying to display their ability before Warlord Auron. It was rare for them to even have a victor, both combatants would just simultaneously call it a draw. Only one regular duel ended in a death. A fight over a woman, and it was the only regular duel that Warlord Auron applauded. It had done nothing but reaffirm his decision to keep as much distance between himself, Evelyn, and Charlotte as possible. Of course, there were other reasons for combatants to agree to a dispute fight during the feast. If they impressed Warlord Auron, it was possible that they could be promoted. The fight on stage kicked off, and it immediately became clear that Evelyn would be correct yet again. The halberd fighter was easily able to keep the swordsman at bay, keeping him at a range and blocking any sword thrust that came his way. Still, they were both sloppy. After almost an entire minute of being at a disadvantage, the swordsman seemed to become restless, throwing himself at the halberd fighter recklessly. The halberd fighter was ready for it though, and seemed to end the fight by impaling the swordsman on his blade. Everyone looked on in surprise when the swordsman wasn¡¯t stopped by the fatal attack. He threw himself at the halberd fighter and stabbed him with his sword before going slack. The result was one dead swordsman, and one severely injured halberd fighter. Warlord Auron was the first to stand and loudly applaud, but he was quickly followed by everyone else in the great hall. Dante turned to the dark-haired Evelyn. ¡°Okay, there is no way you aren¡¯t using a skill.¡± From his other side, Charlotte began to laugh. ¡°Looks like he finally caught on.¡± Charlotte was definitely the more mischievous of the two, which seemed oddly suitable with her red hair. Evelyn remained coolheaded, but still had a pleased smile as she shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s a scouting skill that allows me to roughly guess how strong someone is. It¡¯s definitely not perfect, and I¡¯m still guessing, but it does help.¡±If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. That gave him pause, and he now felt far more vulnerable. It was almost as though he was naked in front of Evelyn¡¯s gaze. Dante cleared his throat. ¡°Out of curiosity, is there a way to block skills like yours?¡± Evelyn nodded. ¡°Of course. In fact, you could buy an item that can block it from Charlotte¡¯s shop. I¡¯m actually surprised you didn¡¯t know, both your aunt and sister already have a way to block it.¡± Dante let out a sigh. ¡°For some reason, the two of them seem to enjoy keeping me in the dark until it¡¯s inconvenient for them.¡± He turned to Charlotte. ¡°What kind of shop do you run?¡± Charlotte¡¯s cheeks had a tinge of red as she glared at Evelyn. ¡°Evelyn misspoke. It isn¡¯t my shop, but my father¡¯s. We both have the Artificer Classification.¡± Evelyn seemed undeterred by Charlotte¡¯s gaze. ¡°It might as well be your shop. You practically do everything. Besides, you are already far more skilled than your father, despite being an entire specialization lower.¡± ¡°How is that possible?¡± Evelyn shrugged. ¡°A lot of money and not enough practice. A crafter can buy levels, but they can only go so far by just leveling their Classification. Especially Artificers, it is one of the most challenging crafting professions.¡± ¡°Evelyn, shut up.¡± Charlotte shot another glare at Evelyn, then turned to face him. ¡°Father is just busy managing things, he is a perfectly good Artificer.¡± Dante didn¡¯t hesitate nod, then acted as though he was interested in the duel on stage to take himself out of the now awkward conversation. It wasn¡¯t very interesting though. The two fighters were quite obviously putting on a show, each sword attack flourishing in ways that were completely ineffective, but it did look nice. It ultimately ended when the two admitted that they were too evenly matched. Unsurprisingly, they even earned a bit of applause, likely from their friends or other members of their mercenary group. He gave a cursory glance at their armbands to confirm his suspicions, and wasn¡¯t surprised to see that they both had the same two colors, orange and red. ¡°Miss Olivia has arrived!¡± Upon hearing the Heralds shout, every head in the great hall turned to see Olivia standing at the entrance. Her face immediately flushed bright red as she looked down at her feet and all the men in the room perked up just like they had for Melisandre, but there was no warlord to deter them this time. Olivia looked just as beautiful as she had before, but her demeanor was completely different. She looked sick, and had none of the liveliness she had when preparing for the feast earlier that morning. Ignoring the gazes of those around her, and brushing past anyone who walked forth to greet her, Olivia walked over to the long table that shot through the center of the room and sat as close to Melisandre as possible. It was hard to watch as Olivia sat with a dour expression, but it seemed to be the only thing keeping the men away. They all hovered over her, it looked like none of them wanted to be the first to approach. Unsure of what to do, Dante looked at Melisandre, who tore her gaze away from Olivia to lock eyes with him for a brief moment before turning back and talking to Warlord Auron. He was trying to understand what Melisandre¡¯s intentions, were when he felt a prod on his side. Evelyn grabbed his attention, then furtively glanced back at Olivia. ¡°I don¡¯t think that your sister is feeling well, maybe you should take her home.¡± Judging by the look that Charlotte was giving him, she wholeheartedly agreed. Dante nodded in assent, then stood. ¡°I think that might be a good idea.¡± He walked past Evelyn to where Olivia was sitting, just a bit further down the table. For a moment, it seemed that the men who were hovering over her would stop him, but they let him through unmolested. He sat next to Olivia, and even though she was aware of his presence, she didn¡¯t even look up. Dante cleared his throat. ¡°Olivia?¡± ¡°What?¡± Olivia didn¡¯t even look up at him, and her tone was completely deadpan. Melisandre had said that she would act more like herself for a few days, but this couldn¡¯t have been what she meant. He decided to follow Melisandre¡¯s advice and use a bit of tact. ¡°I¡¯m a bit tired and feel like turning in for the night, but I¡¯m not sure that I can find my way back to our inn. Do you think you could guide me back?¡± Olivia gave a slight nod of assent, and he had to hold in his sigh of relief as the two of them stood. It felt like he was walking on thin ice. As he stood, he felt a hand press against his chest. ¡°Where the hell do you think you¡¯re going?¡± One of the larger men that was hovering over Olivia held him in place. Dante looked at the man incredulously. ¡°Seriously?¡± It didn¡¯t take a genius to see that Olivia was in a precarious place mentally. The man wasn¡¯t deterred in the slightest. ¡°We were here first, you can¡¯t just jump ahead.¡± ¡°What are you even talking about?¡± The man smiled at Olivia lasciviously. ¡°Aldric told us how easy she is. You can have the whore after we-¡± Seeing Olivia flinch in his periphery, he reacted without thinking. There was a loud crack as his knuckle connected with the man¡¯s chin. Chapter 73 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 73 His punch knocked the bastard off his feet, and the entire great hall went silent. Ignoring them, Dante turned back to Olivia to check on her, but she was already halfway out of the room, and running. He felt someone grab him by the shoulder and yank him around, and Dante pushed the random assailant off of him as he spun. His attacker didn¡¯t seem ready for the sudden force and he fell to the floor. Seeing their friend hit the floor, three others attacked him. They lunged at him, piling on and sending him to the ground while trying to pin him and simultaneously raining down blows. Dante clicked his wrist to discreetly pull his spare dagger. Then, using the three bodies that were on top of him for cover, slashed into them lightly with the enchantment activated. ¡°Enough!¡± As soon as he heard the voice, Dante used Manipulate Blade to hide the dagger back up his sleeve before standing. His three attackers twitched on the ground, but otherwise didn¡¯t move. Everyone turned to see an exceedingly irate Warlord Auron. He seemed to be seething, and Melisandre was already gone, likely chasing after Olivia. Warlord Auron marched up to their ¡®group¡¯, and the men surrounding Dante backed off hesitantly. Even the three on the floor rolled away as their bodies regained function. The exception was the large man he punched on the chin. That man surprisingly stood his ground as Warlord Auron approached. ¡°Ethan, you dare?¡± After Melisandre left, it was like the warlord was a completely different person. Any kindness was gone, replaced by tyranny. Ethan frowned, but otherwise didn¡¯t react. ¡°Dare to do what? You¡¯ve lost your damn mind Auron.¡± Warlord Auron¡¯s expression tightened. He drew a sword and took a single step forward, but seemed to hesitate. Seeing him move, Ethan took a step back, and for the first time looked uncertain. ¡°You¡¯d really turn on me because I offended the niece of some woman you picked up?¡± Warlord Auron¡¯s eyes narrowed as if agitated, and he took another step forward, but he seemed to struggle as he took it. It was as though he was fighting against Melisandre¡¯s charm. Dante looked closely, and noticed that all of the men surrounding him had an armband with a single color ¨C red. He took a very subtle step backward. He didn¡¯t know the limits of Melisandre¡¯s charm, but if Warlord Auron broke out of it, things would end badly. Ethan saw the struggle on Warlord Auron¡¯s face and seemed to harden his resolve. ¡°You may be able to win battles, but without me, you would¡¯ve been nothing. Just put the sword down before you do something you¡¯ll regret.¡± One of the surrounding men stepped between the two of them. ¡°Let¡¯s just calm down and talk this through tomor-¡± It seemed that the man who stepped forward didn¡¯t have anywhere near the same status - or relationship to the warlord - as Ethan, because Warlord Auron stepped forward and slammed his fist into the man¡¯s chest. There was no overwhelming impact, and the man he punched didn¡¯t go flying. There was just a sickening wet crunch as the man¡¯s chest was crushed and he slumped to the floor. Warlord Auron stood over the man¡¯s body, veins on his forehead twitching and muscles straining, but otherwise expressionless. ¡°Y-You-¡± For the first time, the severity of the situation seemed to weigh down on everyone present. No one reacted as strongly as Ethan though, he was peddling backward. ¡°You¡¯ve really lost your mind.¡± Ethan looked to those around him. ¡°Someone hurry up and stop him, he¡¯s gone mad!¡± ¡°Stop.¡± The coldly spoken word cut through the thick tension, and Warlord Auron went slack, falling to one knee and gasping for breath. Before anyone even realized what was happening, an overwhelming force enveloped the room. One by one, people began dropping, falling to the floor unconscious.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Dante gritted his teeth as the force increased in pressure, he had never experienced anything like it before. It felt like the world was coming down, collapsing in the space around him and overwhelming him. The pressure was absurd, he couldn¡¯t move any part of his body. Dante felt his legs buckle as he fell to his knees, and watched on as the last of those around him fell unconscious. Warlord Auron was the last, struggling against it until the last moment. The pressure continued to increase. Dante slumped down to the floor, laying down on his side as blood began to leak from his nose. The faint echo of footsteps rang out through the great hall, getting slightly louder as they approached until they seemed to be right next to him. Melisandre walked into his view, and when he saw her, he could feel a chill spread through his body. He had thought that she had seen her angry when he made Olivia cry, but he hadn¡¯t realized how wrong he was. Melisandre seemed to sense his presence. She glanced down at him, and he felt goosebumps begin to spread along his body. Her eyebrows lifted slightly, as if surprised that he was still conscious, then the pressure disappeared. ¡°The carriage is outside, go back to the inn.¡± Her voice scraped against his ear¡¯s like a cold razor, it was almost painful to listen to. Dante gave a slight nod, but Melisandre had already dismissed him from her mind as she moved closer to Ethan¡¯s unconscious form. Dante slumped onto his stomach, then struggled to press himself onto all fours. He was surprised to find that his body wasn¡¯t weakened at all, but his mind seemed to be holding him back. Melisandre had used some form of mental attack on them, that was obvious, but it was completely unlike any of those that he had felt. It felt physical, and there was nothing to block in his mind. He was likely only conscious because of the glove¡¯s presence in his mind. He heard a loud gasp, and looked up to see Ethan wake up and try to struggle away from Melisandre. She had one hand on his chin, holding him in place and tilting his head up to face her. ¡°Which one is Aldric?¡± Her voice was somehow colder than it was only moments ago. Ethan looked at the scene around him in horror, then raised a shaking finger and pointed at one of the unconscious bodies that was only a few feet away from him. There was a loud crack as Melisandre jerked her hand and stood from Ethan, his neck now twisted at an impossible angle. She moved to her new target, who stirred awake as soon as she touched him. Dante began to crawl to the door, his mind still wasn¡¯t functioning enough for him to walk steadily. ¡°Who else saw?¡± ¡°W-what are you talking about?¡± There was another loud cracking noise, this one sharper, likely a slap. ¡°Who else.¡± Melisandre¡¯s voice grated against his ears, and Dante paused his crawling as a shiver shot through him. ¡°It wasn¡¯t me-¡± The voice was cut off by a loud grunt, and Dante glanced back to see Melisandre holding a dagger that was sticking out of Aldric¡¯s thigh. The enchantment on the dagger lit up, and Aldric began to scream. Dante continued to crawl, faster now as his mind began to heal. He had no interest in watching Melisandre torture someone. The screaming stopped, and Aldric struggled to breathe through gasping breaths. ¡°-Eric told Clint from the Vulture¡¯s Guard.¡± Aldric inhaled sharply between wheezes. ¡°I don¡¯t know who everyone else was, but he¡¯s the one who brought me.¡± There was another loud crack, then silence. Dante glanced back, Melisandre was gone, and Aldric¡¯s neck was twisted like Ethan¡¯s. What in the hell is going on? Everything happened way too fast. Obviously, something bad had happened to Olivia. Even Melisandre was taken off-guard by it. Dante made it to the door of the great hall and used the door¡¯s handle to pull himself up to his unsteady feet. Then, he stumbled through the hallway until he was back out into the courtyard. Melisandre¡¯s range was ridiculous, every combatant or servant he passed on the way to the carriage was unconscious, the exception being the carriage driver himself. Their carriage driver looked completely terrified and was shaking as he held onto the reins. The look of relief on the old driver¡¯s face was almost palpable as he stumbled up to the carriage. ¡°Right this way sir. As soon as you get in, we will be off.¡± Dante smiled grimly. It seemed that Melisandre hadn¡¯t forgotten him. He had thought that it was entirely coincidental that she noticed him and told him to go back to the inn before killing Ethan. The driver hopped down and held open the door for him, and Dante gave a slight nod of appreciation as he passed him and silently struggled into the carriage. He was about to settle in for a nice and quiet carriage ride so that he could digest what had just transpired when he noticed Olivia silently sitting in the carriage, her head resting on the opposite wall. She wasn¡¯t crying like he would have expected, she just looked overwhelmingly sad. For some reason, the sight of Olivia was completely unexpected. He would have thought that Melisandre had already sent her back to the inn, and was completely unprepared to see her. Olivia saw him pause as he stepped into the carriage and looked up. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Dante looked at her incredulously. ¡°For what?¡± In reply, Olivia just shrugged. That was a feeling he could sympathize with, he was also sorry, but had no idea what for. ¡°You have nothing to apologize for, he was just an asshole.¡± ¡°Maybe.¡± He struggled to think of what he could say to console her. ¡°It¡¯s not like you can help it.¡± Olivia lightly snorted with disdain. ¡°Melisandre can.¡± ¡°She¡¯s lived with it longer.¡± Olivia shrugged. Dante hesitated, but couldn¡¯t help but ask. ¡°What happened?¡± Olivia looked at the passing streets through carriage window for a moment before replying. ¡°I went to go see my charmed like master instructed, but he brought an audience. I didn¡¯t realize until after.¡± Chapter 74 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 74 Dante placed Melisandre¡¯s letter back down on his nightstand. Because of his grogginess, he had to read it twice before he was convinced that he fully understood it. Next to the letter was the bag of coins that he was supposed to ¡®occupy himself with¡¯. Dante picked it up and drew open the drawstrings. All the coins were gold. Apparently, Melisandre was off stabilizing Warlord Auron¡¯s position. For some reason, there seemed to be a bit of discontent among his mercenary groups. The letter said he could do whatever he wanted, but had to be back and ready by the time the sun went down. They were going to start his ¡®training¡¯ tonight, but he would believe that when it happened. It was also slightly worrying that Melisandre had been in his room at some point throughout the night without him knowing¡­ Unsure of how to spend his day, he decided to see what Olivia was doing. After getting dressed, Dante groggily walked out into the hallway. He paused outside of Olivia¡¯s room, hesitant, but decided to knock anyways. No answer. He waited outside of her door for almost a full minute, but didn¡¯t knock again. He didn¡¯t want to wake her up or bother her if she wanted to be left alone. Dante let out a sigh, it seemed that he would be alone for the day. He walked down the stairway and made fleeting eye contact with the innkeeper, only to be completely ignored. He thought it to be a bit rude, but somewhat understandable. His only real contact with the innkeeper was when the man offered him and Victoria a room, and the forceful shutdown from Victoria that followed. After that, Melisandre and Olivia had dealt with the innkeeper for him. It wasn¡¯t as though he and the innkeeper had a bad relationship, or at least he didn¡¯t think that was the case, it was just the lack of relationship at all. He hadn¡¯t really considered it before, but he had been almost completely isolated in Desas. The only people he had really talked to other than Melisandre and Olivia were Charlotte and Evelyn from the banquet, and Ezra, if you could even count him. That line of thought actually gave him a rather good idea. He knew someone who ran an Artificers shop, and he had a lot of time, and money. Dante walked up to the innkeeper - who was busy wiping down the top of the bar - and cleared his throat. The innkeeper looked up from his task, and seemed somewhat surprised to see him. ¡°How can I help you sir?¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking for an Artificer¡¯s shop. Do you know where I can find one?¡± It was unlikely that there was more than one Artificer¡¯s shop in Desas, which made finding Charlotte¡¯s all the easier. The innkeeper shrugged and began to wipe down the bar again. ¡°There is probably one in the Merchant¡¯s District.¡± Dante looked at the innkeeper silently, doing his best to hold in his smartass retort. He took a few moments, and after calming himself, he realized that the innkeeper¡¯s reply might have been fair. One look around the inn ¨C and its patrons ¨C and anyone could tell that wasn¡¯t exactly the nicest establishment. The innkeeper likely didn¡¯t make enough to bother with the wealthy Merchant¡¯s District. Still, the man could have at least made an effort. He really couldn¡¯t see what possessed Melisandre to stay in such a place. Letting out a sigh, Dante walked out of the inn and began heading down the street. It only took him a few minutes to make it the guarded gate that led to the Merchant¡¯s District, where he was stopped. Dante looked at the spear shaft that was barring his way in surprise, he had never been stopped when entering the Merchant¡¯s District before. ¡°State your business, boy.¡± Dante¡¯s eyes followed the spear shaft until they came to the person who was holding it. The guard was young, and couldn¡¯t have been more than a year or two older than him, which made him somewhat indignant about the derisive way he was called ¡®boy¡¯. Dante glanced at the second guard, who was leaning against a wall to the side. The guard was gruff, old, and looked lazy. From his experience in Alazel, that was definitely the preferable guard to deal with. Upon locking eyes with him, that guard looked at his current predicament and gave a helpless shrug. He looked back at the young guard. ¡°I came to do some shopping.¡± The only reply he got was a derisive snort. Dante looked down at himself. He didn¡¯t think that he looked that bad. He was even wearing some of the linen clothes that Olivia bought him. True, they were the ones that were meant for sleeping, but the others were far too uncomfortable for casual use. The lingering grogginess of the early morning mixed with the annoyance of the guard was making him thoroughly irritated. Dante dug into his pocket and opened up the sack inside, then flicked a gold coin at the lazy looking guard. When the gold coin caught the sunlight, the lazy guard was immediately wide awake and alert. He glanced back at to the first guard, and watched contently as the younger guard gaped at him. ¡°I¡¯m looking for an Artificer¡¯s shop, do you happen to know where I can find one?¡± The guard caught the coin with a practiced hand and nodded happily with a massive grin on his face. ¡°Of course, sir. I would be happy to escort you there myself.¡± The guard glanced over at the younger guard with a smirk, as if emphasizing the mistake. The younger guard cleared his throat, he looked almost sick. ¡°My apologies, sir. I hope that your shopping trip is fruitful.¡± Dante nodded, then allowed the older guard to lead him to Charlotte¡¯s shop. He found the guards behavior to be slightly peculiar, but that was because he was comparing him to the ones he grew up around in Alazel, or the ones at the academy. If those guards thoroughly offended someone they thought was a noble, it wouldn¡¯t have been uncommon for them to beg for forgiveness. It seemed that the guards had a much higher position in the wastelands. That, or the disparity of power between social classes in the wastelands wasn¡¯t as extreme. The guard was practically skipping with joy as they walked down the street. It wasn¡¯t a surprise, he had probably just given the man a year¡¯s pay at the very least. He would have given the guard a silver coin, but Melisandre hadn¡¯t given him any. Still, it was a gold coin well spent. ¡°Here you are, sir.¡± They stopped, and Dante looked around in surprise. ¡°Where is it?¡±This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. The guard politely motioned to one side of the road. The building he motioned to was enormous, but had no windows, and definitely didn¡¯t look like much of a shop. It didn¡¯t even have a sign. ¡°That¡¯s the Artificer¡¯s shop?¡± The guard nodded. ¡°Yes sir. It doesn¡¯t look like much, but they usually don¡¯t sell to individual customers. The man who runs the shop has a deal with Warlord Auron, so almost everything they create immediately goes to the front lines.¡± Dante gave an uncertain nod. The guard saluted. ¡°If that¡¯s all then, I¡¯ll be going sir.¡± After dismissing the guard, he walked into the ¡®Artificer¡¯s Shop¡¯. The inside of the shop was strange. He walked into a small room with a single work desk-near the wall in the back that was sitting next to a large door. There was a strange spherical object on the desk, and there seemed to be over a dozen pieces of scrap metal sitting next to it. His eyes were drawn to a familiar figure though. Charlotte was sitting behind the desk. Her long red hair completely covering her features as she massaged her forehead, and she seemed to be completely ignoring the spherical object. Charlotte didn¡¯t seem to notice that he had walked into the shop, so he cleared her throat. Charlotte looked up. Her eyes were completely red and she looked haggard. She looked at him for a few seconds, expression completely dead. Then, she seemed to realize who she was looking at and jumped up from her chair, pressing herself against the wall behind her. Slightly taken aback by Charlotte¡¯s reaction, Dante cleared his throat a second time. ¡°Hey Charlotte, I had some free time and decided to stop by and see what you had for sale.¡± Charlotte¡¯s eyes danced between him, the door at her side, and the door he just came through. ¡°Oh, hey Dante. I, uh, didn¡¯t see you there. Where is your sister?¡± ¡°I think she is back at our inn.¡± Charlotte let out a rough breath and sat back down at her desk and continued to massage her forehead. Dante walked up to her desk slowly. ¡°What was that about?¡± Charlotte looked up at him like he was insane. ¡°Are you kidding? Your aunt is terrifying, and your sister is the one who sets her off.¡± Come to think of it, that was a rather fair point. ¡°So, um, I came to check out your shop.¡± Charlotte didn¡¯t even stop massaging her forehead, she just used her other arm to gesture to the entirety of the small room. ¡°Uh, rough night?¡± He had meant it to be a lighthearted joke, but judging by Charlotte¡¯s glare, it wasn¡¯t funny. ¡°Yes. But comparatively, I suppose I have nothing to complain about. Some of the others still can¡¯t even sit up because their headaches.¡± His lingering grogginess now made sense. Melisandre was even stronger than he had thought, which he didn¡¯t think was possible. She was like a bipolar force of nature. ¡°So, do you have anything for sale?¡± Charlotte gave a slight nod, then released a large breath as she stood. ¡°Follow me.¡± She stepped through the door that was next to the desk, and he followed. The new room seemed to make up the vast majority of the building, it was practically a warehouse. It was divided into three separate sections, and each section seemed to have its own variety of materials and similar projects that were in various stages of assembly. He was surprised by Charlotte¡¯s sudden vigor, as soon as they stepped into the large room she began to walk quicker and even talk faster. It was like all of her exhaustion from only moments ago was gone. ¡°Unfortunately, father rarely lets me make anything other than what the warlord orders. The parts are too expensive, and the rate of failure is far too high. And even when I do make those, I sell them almost immediately to the warlord anyways. Fortunately, we have three different large orders right now and father always orders more than enough parts.¡± Charlotte gestured to the three different sections. ¡°Unfortunately, one of the items would be completely useless to you, it¡¯s a short-range communication device.¡± That didn¡¯t sound useless at all. ¡°A communication device?¡± Charlotte nodded. ¡°They transmit sound to each other. They aren¡¯t useful because the range is only around a mile. Still good for transmitting orders on a battlefield though.¡± She walked over to one of the sections and picked up and orb like object. It was the same thing as the item on the desk outside, but completely assembled. She handed it to him, and he carefully inspected it. It didn¡¯t look too strange, just an orb that was made of different types of metals. The only thing that he found to be of interest was the etched lines on the surface. They looked almost like enchantment lines, but instead of being added by a new material, they were engraved into the object. ¡°How does it work?¡± ¡°Similar to enchantments, just feed mana into it instead of world essence. This one isn¡¯t paired though, so it won¡¯t do much.¡± Dante placed the orb down. ¡°Okay then.¡± He actually really wanted to try out the orb, but didn¡¯t want to use his mana to power it. His mana¡¯s dark blue color was a bit too strange to randomly reveal. Charlotte seemed surprised that he didn¡¯t at least try it, but shrugged and kept moving. The second section seemed to have a far more intricate item than the first. It was tiny flat square made of overlapping strands of etched metal. The completed ones had a small chain connected to it, likely so it could be kept as a necklace. ¡°This is pretty much what you asked for at the feast, but you may not want it because of Warlord Auron¡¯s specifications.¡± ¡°Specifications?¡± Charlotte nodded. ¡°He uses these to hide his strongest combatants in the groups of weaker ones. It allows them to take an enemy off-guard. That normally wouldn¡¯t mean much, but because they often send the strong combatants in small groups, he asked me to make them so that they can¡¯t be deactivated. It stops a single combatant from giving away his group.¡± ¡°Why would anyone do that?¡± Charlotte gestured to the necklace. ¡°When it touches your skin, there is a constant mana drain of half of a mana per second. That usually doesn¡¯t mean much, but to a combatant in a drawn out fight, that bit of mana could easily be the difference between life and death. Especially for those with low Wisdom.¡± He examined the necklace closer. ¡°Couldn¡¯t they just take the necklace off?¡± Charlotte shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m sure they have ways to prevent that. I don¡¯t worry about it. But the chain detaches, so I¡¯m sure a slight adjustment to a piece of armor that is hard to remove would stop them from taking it off.¡± Dante rubbed his chin. A half mana per second drain was inconvenient, but keeping his strength hidden was very convenient. ¡°How much?¡± Again, Charlotte shrugged. ¡°I sell them to Warlord Auron for 10 gold coins a piece, but we will have leftover parts anyways. I¡¯ll sell you one for 7, which is just above the price of the parts.¡± He could feel his chest tighten. Charlotte was insinuating that the small square in front of him was worth around 5 gold just from the parts. He couldn¡¯t understand what could make it so valuable. ¡°I¡¯ll take one.¡± He took out 7 gold coins from the small back Melisandre had given him, which left him with well over a dozen left, and exchanged them for one of the necklaces. Charlotte handed it to him, and he was careful to only touch it by the chain as he slipped it into his pocket. ¡°I saved the best for last!¡± It seemed that the third item was what her excitement was building towards, because she looked even happier. He couldn¡¯t help but be curious about what might drive away her exhaustion. They walked over to the third section, and he looked intently for the item, but there only seemed to be parts lying about. Charlotte walked over to a large box and careful opened it, then pulled out a glove. Well, more of a gauntlet. It was made of separate pieces of conjoined metal, but it didn¡¯t seem like it would restrict his hand¡¯s mobility. He was slightly disappointed to see the gauntlet. It was for the left hand, which might have worked, but the guild¡¯s glove with the dagger catch was already taking over that part of his body. ¡°You¡¯re in luck! Warlord Auron asked for this item personally, and I was successful on my second attempt. I actually had a buyer lined up for the spare, but your aunt killed him last night. I¡¯m really happy that you are going to buy it, because I would have lost a lot of money if you hadn¡¯t!¡± She smiled, but in a way that made her seem slightly crazed with her exhausted features. It seemed that Charlotte¡¯s fear of bothering Olivia didn¡¯t extend to him at all, because he definitely felt like he was being extorted. ¡°What does it do?¡± ¡°While activated, you will be able to perfectly sense everything within a 5-foot radius of the gauntlet.¡± Charlotte seemed quite proud of the glove, but he didn¡¯t see why that would be such a big deal. ¡°Couldn¡¯t anyone just release mana to sense objects around them, or even just use a ranged skill¡¯s awareness to do it?¡± He could easily use his blink skill to vaguely sense what is around him. Charlotte rolled her eyes. ¡°Of course. But try to stop an incoming arrow that was shot with the aid of a skill by doing that and see how it goes. With this gauntlet, you could easily count the number of hairs on your own head.¡± That definitely made him reconsider. As someone who didn¡¯t often fight with someone watching his back, he couldn¡¯t deny how useful the item could be. ¡°What¡¯s the mana drain like?¡± ¡°One and a half mana per second while activated.¡± She practically shoved the gauntlet at him as though he had already bought it. ¡°Cost?¡± ¡°14 gold coins.¡± Dante let out a sigh and dug for the coins. He would have bought the gauntlet anyways, it was too useful not to buy, and was pretty much free since Melisandre was just handing out bags of gold coins. After counting out the 14 coins, he was left with a single gold coin. Charlotte grabbed the coins in surprise. ¡°You aren¡¯t going to test it first?¡± Now that it was in his hands, Dante examined his new gauntlet. ¡°No. If it doesn¡¯t work, I¡¯ll just send my aunt over to request a refund.¡± He was pleased to see Charlotte freeze in what seemed to be horror. Chapter 75 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 75 The sun was beginning to set, and he was actually somewhat thankful. He had spent the entire day wandering the streets of Desas, and as a result, been flooded by an overwhelming sense of loneliness. It was something he hadn¡¯t expected. If anything, he would have thought that some space from Olivia and Melisandre would have been pleasant. But something about wandering the streets of Desas, alone, just brought back bitter feelings from the time he spent in Alazel. It raised one big question. What would he do when Victoria was done with him? It was inevitable. Victoria had said it herself, she was only helping him because someone else had asked her to do so. When she was done with him, they would likely never see each other again. And he would be alone again. No Melisandre, no Olivia, and no Victoria. It wasn¡¯t as though he didn¡¯t have any goals that he could occupy himself with. There were several. Cross the Chaos region for example. Or find out what an archaic was. He had even resolved himself to do something about the Calmans, but honestly, the Calmans were his last priority. Still, none of those would help with his first issue. His day alone allowed him to think about his future, and like always, it seemed bleak. Dante walked into their inn, and was surprised to see that Melisandre was waiting for him in the main room. She was dressed casually, too casual to be seen outside by her standards. It was something he was thankful for, he had been dreading what his ¡®trust training¡¯ might be, but not going out was definitely preferable. ¡°I¡¯m glad to see that you are on time. Let¡¯s go. We will conduct your training in your room.¡± Melisandre spun on her heels and headed up the stairway. Letting out a sigh, Dante followed her up. As they climbed the stairs, his mind began to wander over what they would be able to accomplish in his room. The short answer, nothing good. At least not with someone as terrifying as Melisandre. They stepped into his room and Melisandre motioned toward his bed. ¡°Lay down.¡± Dante looked at the Melisandre, then the bed, then back at Melisandre. ¡°No.¡± He tried to keep the exasperation out of his tone, but some of it slipped out. There was no way he was going to end up charmed like Warlord Auron, or lose his world essence. No matter how beautiful Melisandre was. Melisandre¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°I¡¯ve had a very long day. Lay down.¡± Dante unconsciously gulped. That coldness from the night before was creeping back into her voice. He looked at the bed again, then gave Melisandre a pleading glance ¨C which was ignored ¨C and laid down. Dante close his eyes, mentally preparing himself for what was about to come. It was several seconds later before Melisandre spoke. ¡°I suppose I should start by apologizing for last night. I expected you to quickly pass out, which would have made the strain on your mind minimal.¡± His eyes flicked open in surprise, and he saw that Melisandre had pulled a chair up to the side of the bed. She even had a notepad and writing utensil. Her expression was genuine, but after hearing about the headaches the other¡¯s received, he didn¡¯t know what Melisandre was talking about. He had ended up relatively fine, but then again, that was likely due to the help of his glove. ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal. I did have a question about last night though.¡± Melisandre seemed slightly interested by his question. ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°I saw Warlord Auron resist your charm. I didn¡¯t think that it would be possible, based on what you said about the person falling severely in love.¡± Melisandre seemed to think what he said over. ¡°It¡¯s somewhat hard to explain. As you said, charming someone will make them fall in love, but they won¡¯t lose all of their reason. When Auron was choosing whether or not to kill Ethan, his reason conflicted too strongly with my charm, and he began to notice it. It¡¯s happened a few times in the past. Usually, if I don¡¯t stop them, they lose their sanity.¡± That was frightening. ¡°Then what about Olivia¡¯s charmed?¡± He was hesitant to ask, but what happened to Olivia made almost zero sense to him. Melisandre let out a sigh and shrugged. ¡°Nothing as dramatic. The fool just didn¡¯t keep his mouth shut. Apparently, he talked about her to whoever would listen.¡± ¡°Then how did¡­ that happen?¡± ¡°People found out where they were going, and they thought it would be fun to watch. Her charmed actually tried to fight them after Olivia ran off.¡± ¡°And you killed them all?¡±The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Melisandre¡¯s voice immediately went cold. ¡°Of course.¡± He wasn¡¯t sure how he felt about Melisandre killing them. They definitely deserved to have some sort of punishment for how they traumatized Olivia, but killing them all? It seemed far too excessive. It was more of an act of mischief rather than malice. Then again, in the face of overwhelming power, moralities didn¡¯t really come into play. And Melisandre was the embodiment of overwhelming power. She could kill anyone on a whim, and no one would be able to stop her. ¡°Are you ready to begin?¡± He wasn¡¯t really sure what they were doing. He was staring up at the ceiling as Melisandre sat next to him in a chair. Still, he nodded. ¡°Alright. Victoria told me that you have issues knowing who to trust. Your issues with trust originated from your past relationships, correct?¡± Again, Dante nodded, this time hesitantly. ¡°We will start at the beginning. Tell me about the first relationships that you had growing up, try not to leave anything out.¡± Dante glanced at Melisandre. She stared back, her writing utensil and notepad were held at the ready, as if she was going to take down every detail that he told her. ¡°How is this training?¡± ¡°As people, we are a culmination of our experiences. Before I can help you, I need to understand who you are, and more importantly, why you are.¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather not.¡± ¡°Just relax. What you tell me won¡¯t leave this room.¡± ¡°So my training on trusting people is going to start with blind trust?¡± Dante didn¡¯t look away from the ceiling, but he could swear that he could feel Melisandre¡¯s glare digging into him. ¡°It doesn¡¯t need to be blind trust. I could threaten you instead.¡± Again, her voice grew slightly colder. He missed the Melisandre that he had first met with Victoria. She seemed so kind¡­ and not deadly. ¡°There weren¡¯t any.¡± ¡°Come again?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t have any relationships growing up.¡± For some reason, the ceiling had suddenly become far more comforting. He couldn¡¯t even bare the thought of looking at Melisandre. He almost felt guilty. Like she would think his isolation was his fault, or there was something wrong with him. There was a pause of silence, then he heard the scratching sound of Melisandre writing on her notepad. ¡°Who took care of you when you were young?¡± He let out a sigh. ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± Melisandre didn¡¯t write anything. ¡°Explain.¡± ¡°My first memories are hazy. I don¡¯t remember much. I remember being hungry. Starving actually. I dug through any pile of trash I could find for food that wasn¡¯t rotten, but in the end, I couldn¡¯t find anything. I remember that by the time I ate it, I was so hungry that the rotten food actually tasted good.¡± Dante continued to look at the ceiling. Digging up his buried memories was painful. It was almost like reliving them a second time, but at the same time, it was almost soothing. It felt good to release the things he had left repressed for so long, and share them with another person. ¡°How old were you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Young. Six, maybe seven or eight. Maybe younger. I didn¡¯t count the years back then.¡± ¡°No one ever helped you?¡± ¡°No.¡± His answers began coming out almost monotone. He had almost forgotten Melisandre¡¯s presence. He was too lost in the past. ¡°Where did you stay?¡± ¡°In dark alleys. Sometimes on a roof if I had the strength to pull myself up, but that was rare.¡± ¡°Were there any others living like you where you grew up?¡± ¡°No. They stayed in the orphanage.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°The orphanage was run by the church, I wasn¡¯t allowed.¡± Melisandre took a deep breath and it broke him out of the trance. The scratching sound of her writing continued, but he didn¡¯t look over. ¡°Let¡¯s move on. When was your first actual relationship?¡± ¡°When I was a bit older than fourteen.¡± ¡°Fourteen? How old are you?¡± There was some surprise in her voice. ¡°I think I am fifteen. I got my Classifications during the last Day of Holy Bestowal.¡± Melisandre began to write again. ¡°Tell me about it.¡± He began to talk about the few days he spent with Edward and Sam. How they had traveled together, and been the first people who really talked to him. Then he told her about how they killed everyone in their party and turned out to be nobles who wanted him to join their house. ¡°How did that make you feel?¡± Dante stared at the ceiling for several seconds before answering. ¡°At first, I was confused. I didn¡¯t trust them, after all, they had just lied to me. But at the same time¡­ I felt special, but in a good way. Desired even. It was the first time I experienced those feelings, and I think I was secretly happy that Edward wanted to recruit me.¡± Dante let out a deep breath. ¡°But looking back on it now, I think I see it for what it was. Just another person who wanted to use me. I wasn¡¯t special. Just one of many. A tool to be wielded, then discarded.¡± Melisandre continued to write, but she didn¡¯t comment. She didn¡¯t try to bring understanding to his mess of emotions, just let him vent them. ¡°Next?¡± Now fully understanding what Melisandre wanted, he began to talk about Layla and Alexander. How their carriage ride went. Their change in behavior when they discovered that he could be of use to them. How they tried to manipulate him in the academy, how they manipulated those around him. How Layla had enslaved him with a wraith collar. Melisandre didn¡¯t ask for his feelings on the two of them. His retelling of the events made his feelings quite clear. Given the opportunity, he would kill them. ¡°Surely there must have been others at the academy that you grew closer to?¡± He began to talk about Will, who he had a fleeting alliance with that was somewhat akin to friendship. Of Jaseni and Haden, who died shortly after they were acquainted. Of Archie and Kayla, who weren¡¯t really the people who he thought they were. Finally, he talked about Mia. He meant to skim over Mia, not wanting to bring her up to Melisandre, but he didn¡¯t. As he began retelling how they became closer over his time at the academy, despite the fact that she was a collared slave, he couldn¡¯t stop. He retold every detail that he could remember from the time they met, until the time Mia died, leaving nothing out. He told Melisandre everything was his fault. He had never felt so vulnerable in his life, but also comforted. It was the first time he had discussed his emotions with another person. It was something that he always longed for. When he finished, Melisandre handed him a tissue. At first, he didn¡¯t know why, but then he realized he had been crying. A lot. ¡°Did you love her?¡± He sniffed, trying to stop his crying while he thought about the question. ¡°No. She was my first and only real friend.¡± Melisandre didn¡¯t say anything for a few minutes, and the silence seemed to permeate through the room. ¡°After all of that, why would you even want to trust?¡± He could feel more tears well up in his eyes and begin to spill over. ¡°I just don¡¯t want to be alone.¡± There was almost another minute of silence. ¡°You won¡¯t be.¡± Melisandre sat in her chair silently until he eventually cried himself asleep. Chapter 75.1 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 75.1 Melisandre Dante finally fell asleep, and Melisandre placed her notepad down while trying to make sense of things. There was only one thing she could be sure of. He was broken. Completely broken. The fact that an archaic would cry at all meant that something was wrong, drastically wrong. Dante should have been distant from his emotions, but he wasn¡¯t. He was completely different from the rest of his kind. That only opened up more questions though. His past was beyond tragic. But, it wasn¡¯t enough to affect an archaic. Being used, abused, or even watching a close friend die might have had an impact on a regular person, but it shouldn¡¯t be enough. Not with their mental fortitude. Something much worse must have happened. That was the real problem. Someone wiped his memory. Not altered, not replaced, it was gone. The number of people who had such a rare skill could be counted on one hand, and they were all exceedingly dangerous. One of the church¡¯s Archbishops was her first thought. But that didn¡¯t hold to logic. The church would have the capability, but they had no reason to hide an archaic in the Outer Edge region. They could do almost whatever they wanted without any real fear of repercussions with the Goddess acting as a deterrent. Besides, grooming an archaic would only cause further internal struggles for them.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. No, it had to be one of the other three factions. Even that didn¡¯t make sense though. All of them had a relatively stable footing, there was no need to take such a large risk, despite the possible reward. One archaic wasn¡¯t worth the threat of eradication. And even if Dante was worth the risk, why leave him alone? Why risk it? True, no one of note would have even the slightest chance of finding him in the Outer Edge region, and all forms of detection would be cut off by the Chaos region, but the chances of him dying by himself were far too high if left unattended. Melisandre¡¯s eyes narrowed. Someone must have been watching over him, helping him in secret. They might still be watching, but she hadn¡¯t noticed anyone. Furthermore, Victoria hadn¡¯t noticed anyone. She would have mentioned it. The possibility that someone was watching Dante without Victoria noticing was frightening. Beyond frightening actually. If that were the case, the lack of intervention was also frightening. It meant that what had happened to Dante was okay with them. Melisandre rubbed her eyes, the smart thing to do would be to take Olivia and flee back to the inner regions immediately. That would be pointless though, the damage had already been done. If she was going to be silenced, and they had the ability, she would. Leaving now wouldn¡¯t make the slightest difference, so she may as well finish helping Dante before departing. That was what she told herself though. In reality, she was unwilling to leave Dante in his current state, despite the risk. Chapter 76 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 76 After practicing his world essence control and the section of the spectral attunement that he actually knew, Dante headed out, eager to get his day started. He walked down the steps that led to the main room of the inn, and was surprised to see Melisandre waiting for him. Generally, they only got together for his ¡®lessons¡¯. Those lessons had been unbearably uncomfortable after the first. After waking up and realizing that he had cried in front of Melisandre, he had been mortified. He didn¡¯t know what had come over him. Needless to say, he had been guarded after that. Thankfully, Melisandre hadn¡¯t delved further into his past after the first. They talked for hours every night, covering a variety of subjects; social dynamics, social norms, power dynamics, and relationship dynamics, among other things. Surprisingly, Melisandre reinforced every lesson with stories from her past, and she would also deconstruct and make sense of the things that they had gone over from his past on the first night. The way Melisandre explained things made everything far more clear, and made everything that happened to him seem far less personal. The world no longer seemed to be against him, or at least not as much as before¡­ Upon seeing him, Melisandre smiled enchantingly. Dante froze. That enchanting smile usually meant that she was going to make him do something that he found to be uncomfortable. ¡°Dante!¡± Melisandre waved for him to come over to her. Dante slowly walked toward her, dreading every step. The previous night¡¯s lesson had been ¡®small talk¡¯, and he had been forced to hold a weird, almost cocky grin the entire time. Now his mind was wandering, thinking of how Melisandre would force him to apply that in his daily life. Now, it was time to utilize that cocky grin. ¡°Good morning Melisandre.¡± Melisandre¡¯s smile deepened. ¡°You look absolutely delightful when you smile like that!¡± She brushed his hair until it was to her liking, then smirked playfully. ¡°It¡¯s going to be quite the challenge to keep the women off of you.¡± Dante had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. Melisandre¡¯s relationship with him had changed drastically after he had cried in front of her. Instead of being threatening, she became almost too nice and playful. ¡°What are you doing here? I thought I wouldn¡¯t see you until tonight.¡± ¡°I came to bring you great news!¡± The enchanting smile was back, and he was becoming more than a little skeptical. ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°I managed to snag a reservation at one of the nicer inns in the Merchant¡¯s District for tonight. Since Olivia and I are going to be busy, you can invite whoever you want to go with you to the Golden Goose inn.¡± Dante¡¯s eyes narrowed ever so slightly, but his grin stayed in an attempt to mollify Melisandre. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m going to be busy today and won¡¯t have the time. I appreciate the offer though.¡± It was Melisandre¡¯s turn to slightly narrow her eyes, smile still on her face. ¡°What are you going to do today?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to go shopping. The bookstore is getting a new shipment today.¡± Reading had been a newly discovered joy in his life, something that he was quick to grasp now that he had the ability and funding from Melisandre. From what seemed to be thin air, Melisandre pulled a large sack out, the sound clinking coins was heard as she did so. ¡°I¡¯m sure that a few more gold coins would speed up your shopping trip.¡± Dante involuntarily gulped as he stared at the bag of coins dangling in front of him, his mind was already thinking of all the books he would be able to purchase with the large sum. He cleared his throat. ¡°A few more coins might make my trip a bit faster.¡± Melisandre¡¯s eyes narrowed further, and a hand flashed inside of her pocket. A second, and equally large sack of coins was pulled out. She dangled it in front of him, one of her eyebrows raised. Dante let out a deep sigh. ¡°Fine. You win.¡± He snatched the bags out of Melisandre¡¯s hand and placed them inside his coat pockets. Causing a large bulge to protrude where they were hidden. ¡°Where did you even keep them?¡± ¡°What a rude question!¡± Melisandre looked pleased. ¡°By the way, who are you going to invite?¡± Dante shrugged. ¡°What about that nice girl who works at the bookstore, the two of you seem to get along well.¡± Dante froze, unable to understand how Melisandre could possibly know about what he did at the bookstore, neither she or Olivia had ever gone with him. On the other hand, Melisandre¡¯s suggestion may have been a good one. The girl she was talking about had a vast knowledge and understanding of the books in the store, and had been able to answer almost all of his questions. A dinner with her was an excellent opportunity. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll invite her.¡± ¡°Great, I¡¯ll be back tonight to make sure you are suitably ready for your date!¡± Without another word, Melisandre walked out of the inn, disappearing into the streets outside. Dante let out a sigh and followed in her wake. Asking a random person out to dinner seemed overly uncomfortable, but it was hard not to be a little happy when he heard the sound of gold coins clinking with every step he took. It only took him a few minutes to get to the bookstore. The guards didn¡¯t even give him a second glance as he walked past the gate to the Merchant¡¯s District, and he followed the familiar path until he arrived. He had frequented the store often. Mainly because the girl who worked there, or his new ¡®target¡¯, allowed him to read them prior to buying them. It was a privilege that none of the other patrons had, but was to be expected since he was their largest customer by far. All of the money he managed to separate from Melisandre was almost immediately spent on the best books he could find. Dante opened the door to the large building, and the familiar scent of dust saturated his senses. The massive bookshelves in front of him were a sight to behold, and he subconsciously smiled upon seeing them.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. The selection of books in the store was enormous. Mainly because there was almost no one in Desas willing to waste such a vast amount of money on books, so they were collected over time. Today was a glorious day though, one of the towns that Warlord Auron recently sacked also had a large bookstore, so for the first time since arriving in Desas there would be new books for sale. ¡°Good morning!¡± Hearing the familiar voice, Dante shifted his smile to the one Melisandre had taught him. ¡°Good morning.¡± He walked up to the desk that his target was sitting behind. She was small, almost petite in all aspects, but had dark brown hair pulled back into a tight ponytail and a pair of reading spectacles covering her face. She couldn¡¯t be described as beautiful, but neither as ugly. She gave off a comfortable comely feeling. ¡°Did the new shipment of books arrive?¡± The girl nodded with a trace of excitement. ¡°It was even larger than the report indicated, there are hundreds. Care to take a look?¡± At his nod, she stood and walked to the door in the back of the shop. Inside the large room, there was a massive pile of books stacked together. Next to the pile of what seemed to be hundreds of books, three of the four other shop workers were sorting through them, dividing them into different piles by their type. Unlike the girl who was leading him, the other three who worked at the shop were all older. It was a family run business, so he came to understand that it was her father, grandmother, and grandfather. Similarly to the girl, they were all relatively small, thin, and had the air of a scholar. It was somewhat surprising to see all three of them at the store, her grandfather was very rarely seen. Upon walking in the room, the girl¡¯s grandpa, Al, turned to him with a smile already on his face. It seemed that everyone was thoroughly excited by the new books. ¡°Ah, I was wondering when you would arrive. Come, take a look.¡± Al was by far the person he was closest to at the bookstore, even though he was almost never there. The two of them had gotten into a very long discussion the first time he was at the store, when he had mistaken the old man as a random patron. Having no desire to stand on ceremony, Dante eagerly walked to the piles of books. Al gestured to a small stack of extremely large books. ¡°The encyclopedias we have found are all over there. We still haven¡¯t finished sorting through the pile, so there will likely be more.¡± Al emphasized the encyclopedias because he bought them almost exclusively. He had wandered into the store on a whim, but after seeing the vast amount of information stored within the encyclopedias, he could hardly believe it and frequented the store whenever he had the spare change or time. Dante practically dove into the pile. He had already acquired all of the encyclopedias that the store had available, over twenty different tomes that covered a wide variety of information. Seeing his attention focused solely on the books, the girl who led him in gave a short laugh. ¡°The store will be open late tonight, so feel free to take your time. I¡¯ll be at the front desk if you need anything.¡± Unwilling to divide his attention, Dante gave a short nod. There were already several books that drew his attention. The largest tome in particular covered hybrid creatures. It was something that he had never even heard of, but just by flipping through he gleamed new information about which species of creatures could interbreed with each other. He instantly set that book aside, he would definitely be buying it. There were several tomes that covered creatures and plants at a base level, something that he already had. Still, he took the time to glance at the index of each one, checking the number of entries and comparing them to the number of entries the ones in his possession had. He was rewarded by an encyclopedia on plants that had almost 15 additional plants in comparison to the one that he already had, but sadly none of the encyclopedias that covered creatures seemed to provide additional information. In the coming days, he would definitely bring his own volumes and check to see if the ones in front of him had information that his didn¡¯t have. For the time being though, he placed them to the side. The rest covered a majority of basic topics, and aside from a book that covered enchantments, they weren¡¯t immediately useful. He wasn¡¯t hurting for money though, so any that he didn¡¯t own previously were kept. After that, he moved the stack of ¡®guide¡¯ books. A relatively small stack consisting of three books. Cooking, farming, and hunting. All of them only covered the basics though, and didn¡¯t offer any specialized information. Deciding to keep the farming and hunting books, he moved them into his keep pile. After that, he moved to the massive pile in the middle, constantly pulling out items of interest. He even stumbled over an encyclopedia that covered potions. Unfortunately, the rest that he found were only somewhat useful, as whoever created the books seemed to have a fascination with stories and legends, something he had no interest in. He did keep an eye out for any books that would possibly have mention of what an archaic was when he glanced at those stories, but couldn¡¯t find anything. By the time he was done, he looked back to see that his pile had well over thirty books, seven of which were the extremely expensive encyclopedias. Seeing that he was finished, Al gave his pile a wry smile. ¡°So many? Maybe you should only buy a few and wait until I get done reading the rest. I can tell you which ones are worth buying.¡± Dante gave a short laugh, Al always seemed reluctant to part with any books, no matter how few. It made him a decidedly bad bookstore owner. ¡°Finding out which ones are worth reading is half of the fun.¡± That earned him a quiet mutter of agreement from the other two, and a sigh from Al. Hoping Melisandre had given him enough, Dante began to stack them and move them toward the desk out front in several trips. His target seemed quite surprised by the quantity. ¡°Are you sure you want all of these?¡± Preparing himself mentally for what was to come, Dante put on the cocky grin that Melisandre had taught him. ¡°Of course.¡± She seemed skeptical, but still began to look through them to count up how much he owed. She was quick, finishing in the span of single minute. ¡°78 gold, 32 silver, and 5 copper.¡± Books were far too expensive. Despite wanting to choke upon hearing the vast amount, he kept a calm demeanor. One of the things Melisandre had taught him was the importance of confidence, especially around women. Praying that he had enough, Dante pulled out the first sack and began to count through the coins. To his relief, the first sack had 50 gold coins. Pulling out the second, he counted out 29 and handed them to her. ¡°Feel free to keep the change.¡± That brought a faint smile to her face. Warlord Auron technically owned all of the books within the shop and set the price, so any additional money would likely go straight to her. ¡°Do you need me to send for someone to deliver these to you?¡± Dante looked over the large stack of books and grabbed the encyclopedia of hybrid creatures. ¡°Yes please.¡± There was no need to mention where to send them, he was too frequent a customer for that. Shipments from the merchant¡¯s district were provided for free from mercenaries that were being disciplined, so there was no point in not having the books shipped. Taking a moment to make sure his grin hadn¡¯t slipped, he followed up. ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve been properly acquainted, my name is Dante.¡± Hearing what he said, she smiled in turn. ¡°My name is Liza, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.¡± ¡°By the way, I managed to snag a reservation at the Golden Goose inn for tonight. Would you care to join me after you get off of work?¡± His small talk lesson from the night before definitely hadn¡¯t made a large impact, it felt like he was stumbling through the conversation. Still, he managed to keep the smile on his face and remained calm, and what he hoped to be confident. Liza froze, then her face flushed bright red. ¡°The G-Golden Goose?¡± She was clearly flustered. A reaction he hadn¡¯t been expecting. Clearly, his smile was more effective than he thought. He nodded in confirmation. Liza didn¡¯t seem to know how to respond. ¡°S-Sure.¡± Mission accomplished. ¡°Great! I¡¯ll see you tonight then.¡± He scanned his memory, but realized that Melisandre hadn¡¯t given him a time for the reservation. ¡°The reservation is for 9, how does that sound?¡± Liza¡¯s bright red face had a trace of confusion. ¡°It sounds good.¡± ¡°Excellent, I think we are going to have a great time.¡± His words brought another blush. Dante spun on his heels in an unhurried manner, eager to leave the shop before he ruined whatever progress he made. It was hard to keep the genuine smile from his face. That was far easier than he had thought it would be. The reservation might still be a problem, but Melisandre definitely had the capacity to adjust that if need be. Chapter 77 Dante''s Immortality - Chapter 77 Melisandre brushed his hair to the side until it seemed satisfactory. ¡°There, now you¡¯re ready.¡± Her hand flashed, and a key appeared in it and was held out for him. ¡°What is that?¡± Melisandre had a playful smile on her face, and from past experience, that wasn¡¯t a good sign. ¡°It¡¯s the key to your room for the night.¡± Realization struck, and he glanced back at the inn in mortification. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious.¡± Melisandre¡¯s hand shot out, stealthily placing the key into his pocket. Then she began to push him into the inn. ¡°Did you think I spent all this effort on you without reason? It¡¯s time to get results.¡± Dante dug his feet into the ground and tried to stop Melisandre from shoving him forward, but it was to no avail. ¡°I can¡¯t do that, Liza wouldn¡¯t even want to.¡± Melisandre¡¯s playful smile turned into a playful smirk. ¡°What makes you think that she wouldn¡¯t want to?¡± ¡°We hardly know each other. The only reason I asked her on a date was because you told me to. How am I supposed to go from a dinner date to¡­ that?¡± They reached the small steps that led to the door of the inn, and Melisandre didn¡¯t stop pressing him forward. She rolled her eyes. ¡°Who said anything about a dinner date? The Golden Goose doesn¡¯t even serve food. It¡¯s a place that people go exclusively for sex.¡± That made him speechless. ¡°The only reason I asked her to go to the Golden Goose was because you told me to. I didn¡¯t even know her name until this morning.¡± Melisandre smirked, again. ¡°Whether or not you know her isn¡¯t important. Victoria is coming back tomorrow, and I feel like if someone doesn¡¯t help you, you¡¯re going to die a virgin.¡± Melisandre¡¯s words made him feel indignant, and he could feel his cheeks heat up. ¡°Victoria is coming back tomorrow?¡± His momentary pause was cut off by an abrupt push to the back, throwing him at the open doorway. Both of his feet and one of his hands stretched out to brace against the doorway and stop himself from being pushed inside. ¡°Apparently, she found a perfect opportunity to train you and can¡¯t delay any longer. I just got her letter yesterday.¡± ¡°It hasn¡¯t even been a month.¡± ¡°Precisely our problem.¡± Melisandre snatched the large book he was holding in his free hand and nonchalantly tossed it to the side. Dante watched the large encyclopedia fall to the dirtied floor in horror. ¡°That was expensive.¡± ¡°I¡¯m the one who paid for it.¡± Her tone was mirthful, and it was obvious she was enjoying herself. ¡°Besides, you won¡¯t need it tonight. I¡¯ll drop it off in your room at our inn.¡± It seemed his opportunity to ask Liza about the hybrid creatures in the encyclopedia just went out the window. His now free hand flew out and braced against the doorway. All four of his limbs were keeping him from being pushed inside. The pressure on his back increased, and he could hear the cracking that indicated that the wood of the doorway was going to give. The pressure on his back lessened, and Melisandre became far more serious. ¡°Dante, be honest. Do you want this? I know you¡¯re nervous, but if you really don¡¯t want to, I wouldn¡¯t force you.¡± Dante hesitantly looked back at Melisandre, she seemed to be awaiting his answer. It wasn¡¯t a hard question to answer, of course he did. Who didn¡¯t? And spending so much time with Melisandre and Olivia had only increased his curiosity regarding the subject. Instead of answering Melisandre with words, Dante nodded, albeit reluctantly. Melisandre¡¯s face lit up with an enchanting smile. ¡°Then don¡¯t worry so much. Besides, if it doesn¡¯t go well, I have a backup plan.¡± Without waiting for a response, both his hands and feet were shoved off of the doorway, and he was pushed into the inn. The sudden acceleration took him by surprise, and he began to fall to the floor face first. Reacting on instinct, Dante tucked his head and rolled on his shoulder, finishing the full rotation by landing gracefully on his feet.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. As soon as he got back to his feet, Dante glared through the open doorway, only to see a smiling Melisandre giving him a thumbs up. He didn¡¯t know how, but he would get back at her for that. Putting Melisandre out of his mind, Dante took stock of his new surroundings. It definitely wasn¡¯t a regular inn. Other than the scattered couples who were partaking in different drinks, there were around half a dozen finely dressed and alluring women standing by the bar eyeing him. Two were laughing with each other as they watched him, likely because of his dramatic entrance. Judging by the looks he was receiving, he had discovered Melisandre¡¯s backup plan. In the far corner of the room, sitting so that she was facing a wall, was Liza. He could tell it was Liza because she looked almost as uncomfortable as he was, even from behind. Filling himself with false confidence, and that stupid grin that Melisandre had taught him, Dante walked across the room to her, completely ignoring the inviting looks that the women at the bar were giving him. With every step he took, the key in his pocket seemed to increase in weight, like it was an overwhelming burden that he had been saddled with. Dante sat across from her. ¡°Hello Liza. You look lovely tonight.¡± Liza had clearly made a large effort. Her spectacles were gone, her usual ponytail was undone in favor of the light curls that seemed to be in fashion, and for the first time since he had met her she was wearing makeup - even though it was only lightly applied. She was wearing an emerald colored dress, which emphasized her bright red face, and his words made her a shade redder. Seeing how embarrassed she was to be there, he had a desire to go back in time and beat himself up before he could ask her to go with him to the Golden Goose. ¡°Hey Dante!¡± She seemed excited, but then caught herself and averted her gaze slightly. ¡°You, uh, also look great.¡± Dante adjusted his posture, squaring his shoulders so they were in line with what Melisandre had taught him. ¡°I know I invited you out on short notice, so if you just want to grab a drink here and then go do something else, that would be fine too.¡± He did his best to gauge her reaction, trying to give her a way out if she was too uncomfortable. ¡°No!¡± Even she seemed surprised by her sudden outburst. ¡°I mean, um, I usually don¡¯t drink. Actually, I had a long day at the shop because of the new shipment, why don¡¯t we, uh, go see the room?¡± Dante stared at Liza in shock, and could feel his face heat up. How in the hell was he supposed to keep his composure in this situation? It was really happening, and Melisandre had only given him a few minutes notice. ¡°Dante?¡± Hearing Liza¡¯s voice, he stopped silently cursing Melisandre. She was looking at him as if she had accidentally done something wrong. He checked himself, and brought back the grin that had somehow slipped previously. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Admittedly, you make me a bit nervous.¡± Seeing how happy the comment had made her, Dante released a silent sigh. Saved. Dante stood and offered her his arm. ¡°Shall we?¡± Liza had a beaming smile on her face as she stood and grabbed onto his arm. He was surprised, she seemed to be far less nervous now than she was previously, it should have been the opposite. Dante led Liza up the stairwell. It was a different experience than walking with Olivia, or even Kayla. They would press themselves up against him, as though they were molding themselves to his body. In contrast, Liza was almost the opposite. She was reserved, keeping a slight gap between them. Upon making it up the stairwell, Dante pulled the key out of his pocket. It was etched with the number twelve. Silently, he pulled Liza to the twelfth room, stopping outside of it and turning to her, full of hesitation. Liza seemed to have none of his hesitation, she seemed almost¡­ excited? ¡°Liza, I should be honest with you. I¡¯m going to be leaving Desas soo-¡± His words were broken off by Liza¡¯s sudden movement. She reached forward, lacing her hands behind his neck and drew herself closer, pressing her supple lips against his own. Dante¡¯s eyes widened in surprise, but Liza didn¡¯t relent. Her lips moved expertly, and it was evident that she had plenty of experience. He shut his eyes, losing himself in the sensation. Despite being taken off-guard, he quickly adapted to the kiss, paying close attention to Liza¡¯s movements and replicating them. It was wonderful, and his confidence was building as their kiss continued. Just as he began to lose himself in the moment, he felt Liza¡¯s tongue lightly caress his bottom lip, his eyes shot open in surprise. Liza¡¯s eyes fluttered open, and he could feel her lips curl into a slight smile as she grabbed onto the hand that was holding the key to the room. ¡°Shall we?¡± Giving a quick, almost jerkish nod, Dante pressed the key into the lock and turned it.
Melisandre As the moans - and groans - that leaked through the wall increased in both volume and quantity, Olivia was visibly struggling to hold back her delighted laughter. Melisandre gave her an admonishing look. ¡°I think he can handle it from here, let us return to our room.¡± Olivia gave her a pleading glance. ¡°But they just started.¡± ¡°We have already completed our objective. He has no need of our help.¡± Melisandre smirked. ¡°Although, I must say, that girls reputation is definitely deserved. I wouldn¡¯t have thought she had such a side to her if you hadn¡¯t mentioned it.¡± In reply, Olivia just smiled as she leaned closer to the wall. Melisandre walked to the door. ¡°Let¡¯s go. What he does tonight is no longer our concern.¡± Olivia gave another pleading glance, but seeing that Melisandre¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change, she too moved to the door with a sigh. ¡°Yes, master.¡± Just as they reached the door, they heard a loud groan that overshadowed the others, then there was silence. Olivia bursted out into laughter, and Melisandre couldn¡¯t hold back her own smile. ¡°That was certainly¡­ quick.¡± Only a few seconds later, the sound of moans and groans picked up again, and Melisandre and Olivia looked at each other with eyebrows raised. Chapter 78 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 78 With a groan, Dante sat up. He was surprised to see that he was alone. Glancing around the room and seeing a note on his nightstand, he picked it up and read it. It was an apology from Liza, she had to rush off to the shop early to help with the increased workload. Dante fell back into the plush bed. Now that Victoria was coming back, it would likely be the last one he slept in for quite a while. He rubbed his brow, thinking over what had happened the night before. He still couldn¡¯t understand Liza¡¯s transformation. She had turned into an animal. He briefly wondered if Melisandre knew, but that thought was pointless, of course she did. Still, it was amazing. Not as amazing as others made it seem, but far better than he had expected all the same. With a sigh, Dante pressed himself off the bed. He needed to pack up his books before Victoria arrived. After getting dressed and stepping out of the Golden Goose inn, he was surprised to see that the sun was already high in the sky. After discovering that it was already past noon, he increased his pace. He made it to the inn in record time, scaled the stairway, and stepped onto their floor before rushing to his room. He was only inches away from opening his door when Olivia¡¯s shot open. ¡°Dante!¡± She practically lunged at him, wrapping him up in an intimate hug. ¡°I¡¯m so proud of you. You did so well for your first time.¡± Dante froze. ¡°What?¡± Olivia didn¡¯t seem to care about how he might have felt. ¡°Master and I waited until things got started before we left.¡± Dante let out a sigh, but didn¡¯t really care. He had pretty much expected it. ¡°Why Liza?¡± ¡°Her boyfriend cheated on her recently, and she¡¯s been looking for someone to spend a night or two with after they broke up. From what I¡¯ve heard, he regrets it dearly.¡± Olivia smirked. ¡°I¡¯m sure you can see why. From what he said, she was excellent. Although I must say, she was a bit more enthusiastic than I anticipated.¡± ¡°You anticipated it?¡± Olivia nodded. ¡°You can¡¯t choose how a variant Classification specializes, I have an¡­ intuition, or perception that even master lacks.¡± Her smile turned mischievous. ¡°When you interacted with that girl at the store, I knew that things would go well.¡± It seemed that Olivia was the one keeping tabs on him when he was at the bookstore. Still, that skill seemed¡­ useful. ¡°Alright, I appreciate the help, but I need to go pack up my books before Victoria arrives.¡± Olivia disentangled herself. ¡°Do you really need to leave with her?¡± Dante let out a sigh, every passing day Olivia became a bit harder to handle. Still, it hadn¡¯t quite reached the same level as it had when they first met. ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll come see you before I leave.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± Olivia looked downcast as she walked back into her room, only turning to look back at him as she passed through the door. ¡°By the way, Victoria is already in your room.¡± That caused him to suck in a sharp breath. He had over a hundred books, and none of them were packed. He didn¡¯t even know how he would transport them. He opened the door, only to see Victoria sitting on the bed as she tabbed through his encyclopedia on different plants. She looked him up and down with an amused smile. ¡°Long night?¡± Letting out a sigh, Dante walked over to his stack of books ¨C which the umbra fox was using as a bed ¨C and tried to move the creature, only to be viciously hissed at. ¡°You talked to Melisandre?¡± Victoria nodded, then held up the encyclopedia. ¡°Have you already read this?¡± Dante nodded. ¡°Yes, but I didn¡¯t have the time to memorize everything. I can match names with appearances, and I know the rarity of every plant, as well as which ones are poisonous.¡± With the memory aid that his Intelligence gave, he could have easily memorized every aspect of the book, but there was only so much time, and other books of importance as well. Victoria seemed pleasantly surprised. ¡°That will save a lot of time. Good job. What about your world essence control and the spectral attunement?¡± ¡°I can easily do all of the steps that you showed me, and it takes about fifteen seconds for me to condense world essence into a single hand. It still leaks, but around half as much as it did initially.¡± Again, more surprise. ¡°How did you manage that?¡± Seeing the surprise on Victoria¡¯s face, it was hard not to be a little pleased. ¡°After you told me to keep the world essence out of my blood flow, I began to isolate different variables within my hand. It took a bit of testing, but I found a few ways to improve condensation by following that train of thought.¡± Victoria had a pleased smile on her face as she listened to what he said. ¡°Did anything else of note happen?¡± Choosing to keep to the things that Melisandre wouldn¡¯t have gossiped about, there were only two more real changes. ¡°Periodically, essence crystals would go up for sale. I bought them whenever I got a chance, as they were relatively cheap. I have enough world essence to specialize my Chronomancer or Revenant Classification, but waited until you returned so I could have your input when choosing my skills¡­ and I like to read.¡± He finished by pointing to the collection of books that the fox was napping on. Victoria gave a short, amused laugh. ¡°Honestly, I was worried that you would have wasted this month, but it seems the opposite was true. Truly, good job. You made better use of your time than I thought possible. Unfortunately, you won¡¯t be able to take many books with you, but go ahead and specialize, let¡¯s see what choices you have.¡± Hearing that he wouldn¡¯t be able to take all the books he had tirelessly collected with Melisandre¡¯s money, he was devastated. ¡°Okay, but which Classification?¡± Victoria shrugged. ¡°It doesn¡¯t really matter. You¡¯ll have enough world essence to specialize the other within the week.¡± It sounded like he was going to be busy in the coming future. A bit hesitant, Dante opened up his status to the Classifications tab. Victoria¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly when she saw the dark blue color, but otherwise, she didn¡¯t do anything. He had been keeping it a secret, but it wasn¡¯t something he could keep hidden from her, so he didn¡¯t see a point in hiding it when she could help him choose the skill for his specialization. World Essence waiting to be assigned: 11,437 Chronomancer lvl 10/10 (0/10,000 world essence) Blademancer lvl 11/10 (0/11,000 world essence) Blade Dancer lvl 11/20 (0/11,000 world essence) Revenant lvl 10/10 (0/10,000 world essence) Victoria said his choice didn¡¯t matter, so he chose to specialize his preferred Classification, the Chronomancer Classification. Seeing the choices for skills, he froze. Choose Specialization Skill or Upgrade for Chronomancer: Upgrade Blink to Directional Blink: Directional Blink: Manipulate the power of space to teleport yourself or an object a short distance away, can now change the direction of the teleportation¡¯s momentum. Cost: 30 mana Range: 15 feet Choose Directional Blink? Yes/No Minor Time Shift: Shift time relative to an object or person to age them. Time can only be shifted forward. Time shifted: 1 year Cost: 100 mana Choose Minor Time Shift? Yes/No Spatial Storage: Store items of a certain size within a spatial rift.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Cost when used: up to 20 mana Capacity: unlimited Choose Spatial Storage? Yes/No Time Barrier: Create a barrier that slows down time to half speed for everything inside. Cost: 30 mana Duration: 5 minutes Range: 20 foot radius Choose Time Barrier? Yes/No Without a doubt, Chronomancer gave the best skill selection of all his Classifications. Every skill or upgrade was exceedingly useful in some way. One skill in particular drew his eye though; spatial storage. He shifted gaze between it and the books that the fox was sleeping on, the books that Victoria said he couldn¡¯t bring with him. Dante cleared his throat, and turned his Status away from Victoria. ¡°I think there was a problem, it only gave me one skill to choose from.¡± Victoria¡¯s eyes narrowed, clearly not convinced. ¡°Oh? Do tell what it is.¡± Seeing the accusation in her gaze, he averted his eyes. ¡°Spatial Storage.¡± That caused Victoria¡¯s eyebrows to shoot up. ¡°Really? Does it say what the capacity is?¡± ¡°Unlimited.¡± Victoria opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. She collected herself. ¡°Unlimited?¡± It was the first time he had seen Victoria shocked, and it made him quite pleased that his new skill was what caused it. Clearly, it was better than he had thought. ¡°Yes, but it says that there is a 20 mana limit for the cost.¡± Victoria rubbed her eyes and muttered to herself before clearing her throat. ¡°I can see why you might want to choose that skill. You should still tell me the others though. Skills are random, you never know what might appear once, and never again.¡± He listed his skills to her, and she seemed most interested in Time Barrier. He couldn¡¯t see why, Time Barrier just wasn¡¯t of the same caliber as the others. It was useful, but he would also be slowed inside the barrier, making the benefits negligible. After telling her the other skills, Victoria went silent for several minutes in thought. ¡°It¡¯s not an easy choice. All of them are actually amazing, and even though it wouldn¡¯t be that good in the immediate future, Time Barrier¡¯s potential is ridiculous.¡± ¡°What do you mean, out of all of them, it seems to be the worst one.¡± If he hadn¡¯t set his eyes on Spatial Storage, he would have picked Minor Time Shift. Its use in combat would be negligible, but outside of it, there were thousands of uses. Directional Blink was also a cut above the rest. Changing the direction of the momentum, whether he blinked a weapon or himself, would add a new layer to his fighting capabilities. ¡°Yes, it appears weak at first glance, but think of how it could upgrade. If you had immunity within the barrier, you would be untouchable, and that¡¯s only one possibility. It might even stop other spells from being activated within it, or even world essence control within, it¡¯s impossible to predict the effectiveness of an upgraded barrier skill. No matter the Classification, barrier skills are almost always regarded as supreme in potential, and to the best of my knowledge, yours is unique.¡± Dante looked back at his books, eyes filled with sorrow. He wished that Victoria had never told him that. ¡°Of course, that rings true with all of your more¡­ interesting skills. There is no way to predict how they will change as you continue to specialize. Even if you chose the barrier skill, it¡¯s more likely than not that the upgrade would be mediocre.¡± That rekindled the excitement in his eyes. Relying on an upgrade would be a bad idea with his shit luck. Dante cleared his throat. ¡°I have two questions.¡± Seeing Victoria waiting, he continued. ¡°First, what is the highest level of specialization within the Outer regions?¡± He asked the same thing at the academy, but never got a straight answer. From what he could piece together, three times should have been the limit, but what she had told him about Jace seemed to implicate otherwise. ¡°For those who have never touched the inner regions, four specializations is basically the absolute limit. In the noble territory, only five people have reached such a level. Two in House Ailloss, one in House Ramotar, and two in House Calman. In the wastelands¡­ there might be around a dozen, but all of them are either in the guild, or close to death. Any warlord who abuses that many resources is asking for a short life.¡± The assassin¡¯s guild was far stronger than he thought, and so was House Calman. ¡°I¡¯m assuming that you didn¡¯t count yourself in that total?¡± Victoria had an amused smile on her face. ¡°Was that your second question?¡± ¡°No, my second question whether or not skills will upgrade the same way every time I specialize. Like, if I don¡¯t choose Directional Blink, will Blink¡¯s upgrade the next time I specialize still be Directional Blink?¡± Victoria shrugged. ¡°Almost always, but there are rare cases. No one knows how it really works, or at least out of the people I¡¯ve talked to.¡± Dante looked the list of skills over again. ¡°So, should I choose Spatial Storage or not?¡± Victoria shrugged again. ¡°That¡¯s your choice, I can only offer insight. Spatial Storage, according to my knowledge, is extremely experimental unless it¡¯s an ancient relic. Even the best Artificers can only create relatively small storage devices, and they are unstable, so there is always a chance that they will break and lose whatever is inside after a period of time. Your skill would definitely be desired by all, and not only would it work well in conjunction with your Blademancer skills, but there is no telling how it might upgrade in the future.¡± It seemed like every time she spoke, the choice became more difficult. His gut feeling was the Spatial Storage, but thinking about how the barrier or time shift skills could be upgraded left him reeling. Finalizing his decision, he chose Spatial Storage. Are you sure you want to choose Spatial Storage? Yes/No *Warning: any skills chosen are final* He chose yes. Attribute change for Chronomancer Classification, new attribute gain per level: +1 Intelligence +2 Wisdom Seeing that he would get two Wisdom per level, he sighed in relief. So far, the attribute change after specializing had seemed almost random, even though he was told it was tied to the skill chosen. Closing his Status, Dante walked over to the stack of books with glee in his eyes. Choosing the book directly under the fox, he activated the skill. The book disappeared, causing the fox to fall down about an inch. It jerked awake as though it had been attacked, growling viciously at him, only to be stopped by Victoria. ¡°How did you do that?¡± Victoria shrugged. ¡°I just used my will to subdue it.¡± Hearing her words, he froze, he had never tested his Oppressive Will skill. The last time he even gave it thought was when he asked Victoria about it, but she wasn¡¯t able to give much insight, so he disregarded it in favor of his other skills. Smiling sinisterly at the deranged fox that only seemed to want to attack him, Dante fed mana into the crystal on the underside of his wrist, completely unprepared with the results. Muffled screams came from what seemed to be everywhere. The fox was no exception, it screeched as it tried to escape from him. Stumbling over itself as it fell off the books to the floor in a very ungraceful manner before jumping on his bed and hiding behind Victoria, who had her eyes narrowed at him. ¡°Stop it.¡± She spoke the words through gritted teeth, and he immediately cut off his connection to the crystal. As soon as he stopped, Victoria let out a sigh. ¡°What in the hell was that?¡± She looked very agitated, and Dante looked at her apologetically. ¡°The passive skill I got from the predatory dungeon, Oppressive Will. I hadn¡¯t tried it yet, and when you mentioned the fox was subdued by your will¡­¡± He had only stopped speaking for a brief moment when the door crashed open, it was Melisandre, with a very scared and shaking Olivia holding on to her from behind. He was screwed. ¡°You!¡± Her terrifying side was back. ¡°You dare?¡± Victoria, still relaxing on the bed, came to his rescue. ¡°Calm down, it was an accident.¡± ¡°An accident?¡± She took a few deep breaths, which seemed to calm her, if only slightly. ¡°Explain.¡± One look at Olivia, and he could see why Melisandre was so upset, she looked petrified. He had set Melisandre off, and was feeling fortunate that he was still alive. As quickly as possible, he explained that he was testing a dungeon skill on a whim. After his explanation, Victoria told Melisandre that it was ¡®just and Oppressive Will skill¡¯, and that somehow seemed to mollify the situation. Olivia gave him a half serious, half joking glare. ¡°Next time you test a skill, try not to induce mass panic.¡± Dante looked at Victoria in askance. ¡°What happened?¡± He did feel bad about accidentally affecting everyone, but that feeling was nothing in comparison to the joy of discovery that the skill from his monster crystal may be useful. Melisandre answered, looking meaningfully at Victoria before doing so. ¡°You filled everyone with an overwhelming sense of dread. It couldn¡¯t be blocked.¡± Hearing that it couldn¡¯t be blocked made him smile, which in turn awarded him with a glare from Melisandre and Olivia. Melisandre spun on her heels. ¡°Come find me when the two of you are done packing, I¡¯ll see you off.¡± Now that Melisandre and Olivia were gone, the pleased smile was back. Dante turned to Victoria. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that the Oppressive Will skill was that strong.¡± Victoria gave him a peculiar, yet slightly amused look. ¡°It¡¯s not. The only real effect it has is subtle coercion, or it gives a subtle air of superiority to those in the vicinity. Some leaders find the effects useful.¡± ¡°Then how did that happen?¡± Victoria maintained the peculiar look. ¡°The power of will comes from your subconscious. Your subconscious is very¡­ dark and overbearing.¡± Great, he was more of a freak than he thought. Still, at least there was some usefulness that came out of it. Victoria didn¡¯t seem too perturbed. She pulled out the book on hybrid creatures and laid back on the bed as she began reading it. He was actually happy to see that Melisandre had, in fact, brought it back like she said she would. ¡°It¡¯s still not an amazingly useful skill, but you might be able to make others hesitate in a fight. Since it can¡¯t be blocked, my reaction is pretty much what you can expect when you take someone by surprise. Get everything your bringing stored away. I¡¯d rather leave without dealing with the guards.¡± That was something that he could agree with. He walked back to his books, storing them away one by one. As he did so, he began to take note of his skill. It felt like the storage was actually a part of his mind. Everything he put away could clearly be seen if he concentrated on it, ready to be recalled a moment¡¯s notice. Almost every book he stored cost 1 mana, and after recalling a few from his storage, he was able to determine that it was the same cost either storing or retrieving. Occasionally, a book would cost two, but they were always the largest ones, and by that, he could see the limitations of the skill. Storing anything above a cost of 20 mana would be impossible. He was also able to determine that contact was required, whether storing or retrieving the item, it had to be touching him. It seemed that anything he brushed past could easily be taken by him on a whim. Looking at Victoria relaxing on the bed, he had a sudden thought that filled him with greed. As nonchalantly as possible, he walked over to the bed and tapped the frame lightly with his finger. The bedframe instantly disappeared, taking 16 mana along with it, and Victoria fell to the floor with the mattress. Before he even realized what had happened, Victoria¡¯s body flickered mid-fall, flashing behind him and shoving him into the mattress. He hit it hard, and below the mattress he could hear the wooden floor crack. Dante turned around, and saw a very pleased Victoria smirking at him. ¡°I was just messing around, you didn¡¯t need to be so rough. You might have hurt the mattress.¡± He definitely deserved the treatment, but possibly damaging the mattress like that was uncalled for. The smirk remained. ¡°I was also just ¡®playing around¡¯. Now that you¡¯re done, let''s go.¡± Victoria tossed the book to him before turning and leaving, and he stored it as it hit his body. After sitting up, he stored the mattress and bedding. Then, he walked to his closet and stored all the clothing he had bought and everything else he had collected in Desas, along with any coins he had leftover. Then, he left a single gold coin in the room, more than enough to pay for the bed. After that, he followed Victoria out. His new skill was amazing before he realized that he could carry a bed with him wherever he went. That made it infinitely better. Chapter 79 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 79 On their way out, they picked up Melisandre and Olivia. Both of them were carrying light travel bags, it seemed like they would also be taking a trip. Walking out of the inn was a bit awkward, those that hadn¡¯t deserted were hiding beneath something as though the world was going to end. Not everyone had taken his skill as well as Victoria had, despite being further away from him. The four of them stopped outside of Desas¡¯ gates. Turning to Victoria, Melisandre was the first to speak. ¡°Olivia an I will be leaving now.¡± Despite her seemingly obvious words given the context, her voice was full of emotion. Even Victoria was somber. The two of them embraced, and he averted his eyes, not wanting to involve himself in their moment. Victoria broke off the hug. ¡°I¡¯m sure we will meet again.¡± Seeing Melisandre¡¯s doubt, his curiosity was piqued, but he wasn¡¯t going to interrupt when he could just ask Victoria later. After breaking off from Victoria, Melisandre moved to him. ¡°No bags?¡± Dante shrugged ¡°New skill.¡± That was all the answer she seemed to need. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him. The hug was¡­ warm. There was no sexual charm in it. It felt nice, really nice. Melisandre turned slightly, bringing him with her before whispering in his ear. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Your Aunt Mel has everything covered. I¡¯ve spent the last month cooking up plenty of ¡®friendship dust¡¯.¡± Dante¡¯s eyes widened, and his cheeks turned slightly red. Aunt Mel? Where had that come from? Where Victoria couldn¡¯t see, Melisandre shoved a large bag of powder into his hands. The amount was inconceivable, and he quickly stored it. ¡®Friendship dust¡¯ was a cute nickname for an insidious drug they had covered in one of their lessons, and Melisandre¡¯s answer for his trust issues. The tiniest amount of the drug would lower inhibitions, stop someone from remembering anything they experienced, and hinder their ability or desire to lie. The drug was incredibly powerful, and exceedingly hard to make through alchemy. He already had a small vial of the stuff, but it seemed Melisandre had spent every free moment she had cooking it up. In a twisted way, it was touching. Melisandre broke off the hug and looked pleased to see his flustered expression. She patted him on the shoulder. ¡°Make sure Victoria tells you how to find me before your training is finished. I¡¯m sure we will meet again.¡± He definitely had a few questions for Victoria. Almost as soon as Melisandre broke away from him, Olivia silently ran up to hug him. Her face was buried into his chest, and for the first time in the past few weeks, she wasn¡¯t trying to seduce him. It was his second pleasant hug of the day. She broke the hug, and her eyes were slightly red, but thankfully not wet. ¡°You better come and visit.¡± Dante gave her that stupid grin that Melisandre had taught him. ¡°Definitely.¡± He didn¡¯t know where they were going, but it didn¡¯t seem like it was somewhere within reach. His answer seemed to placate her, and Olivia merrily skipped back to Melisandre. ¡°See how much charm he has now? And after only one month too. It¡¯s amazing what just a pleasant smile can do.¡± Melisandre looked at Victoria mischievously. ¡°Since he¡¯s your apprentice, I hope you¡¯ll stay professional when the two of you are alone.¡± Both Dante and Victoria simultaneously rolled their eyes. ¡°Come, Dante, we¡¯re leaving.¡± Victoria definitely wasn¡¯t one for long goodbyes, immediately after she spoke, she set off at an easy canter, not even checking to make sure he followed. Melisandre looked unsightly as she watched Victoria leave, and he could see moisture begin to gather in her eyes. ¡°She certainly hasn¡¯t changed much.¡± She looked at him meaningfully. ¡°Try not to pick up any of her bad habits¡­ Till we meet again, Dante.¡± Melisandre turned to Olivia. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Olivia.¡± The only response from Olivia was a somber smile, and a pleasant wave before she followed Melisandre. The two of them set off at an unhurried walk. Seeing them depart, part of him felt empty. He had just adjusted to life in Desas, and it was in no way unpleasant. ¡°Bye¡­¡± The mumbled word came out without conviction. Dante let out a sigh, then chased after Victoria. Victoria ran at a slow pace, obviously waiting for him to catch up. She didn¡¯t turn to acknowledge him, nor did she allow him to completely catch up to her. Every time he got close she would pick up her pace. He didn¡¯t understand why, he had dozens of questions to ask, but resigned himself anyways. When it came to speed, he had no hope of matching her. They ran at a high speed for almost a full thirty minutes before making it back into the forest edge that led to the mountain range where the assassin¡¯s trained. Shortly after that, they came to a clearing where two massive creatures were harnessed and waiting for them. He recognized them from his book on creatures, they were raptors. Massive carnivorous birds that were covered in white and grey feathers. Judging by their wingspan, which must have been over 9 meters each, they were still relatively young. The most terrifying aspect of them was their massive curved beaks and razor-sharp talons, according to the book, it made them a two-star threat level.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Unlike plants, which were given a rank based on rarity or medicinal effect, creatures were only ranked if they were dangerous. Anything with just one star was considered something that should be avoided if possible. Most creatures in the book didn¡¯t have a ranking, but even the most terrifying creature in the book was only five stars out of ten possible stars. Of course, the information in the books he managed to acquire was rather limited. The raptors themselves could even reach three stars if they were of the wind elemental variant, which would increase speed, or lightning elemental variant, which would drastically increase their offensive capabilities. And of course, all of those ratings could pretty much be disregarded when dealing with hybrid creatures, which could potentially be far stronger by inheriting the most terrifying aspects of two compatible creatures. Just thinking of hybrid creatures made his head spin, and he hadn¡¯t even had the opportunity to ask Liza about them. Dante glanced at Victoria¡¯s back, she probably had a few answers to his questions. ¡°Where did you find raptors?¡± One of the raptors lifted its head back and shrieked. The thunderous cry seemed to pierce the air, but with a single glance from Victoria, it went quiet. ¡°I borrowed them.¡± For the first time since they left Melisandre, Victoria turned to face him. Her eyes were red and moist, as though she was holding back tears. It took him completely off-guard, and his eyes went slightly wide before he could forcibly restrain his reaction. He never knew Victoria had an emotional side at all, much less one to this extent. Seeing her in such a state made him exceedingly uncomfortable, and he didn¡¯t know how he should react given the fact that she was his master. Victoria pushed the fox off of her shoulder and began digging through her bag. ¡°Before we set off, let¡¯s get you bonded.¡± It seemed that Victoria¡¯s method of dealing with emotions was ignoring them, which was actually preferable in his opinion, and a breath of fresh air after dealing with Melisandre and Olivia for a month. Still, he didn¡¯t understand why they didn¡¯t just stay in Desas for a few extra days if she wanted to spend more time with Melisandre. It wasn¡¯t as though they were in such a big rush. After digging out a piece of paper, Victoria handed it to him, and he looked at it quizzically. It had the feel of a mana contract, but it was something more. The lines of the paper, and even the paper itself seemed to be made out of a variety of substances that gave off the feel of power, some of the lines even looked like dried blood. And instead of regular writing, it almost looked like an enchantment, but had none of the grace. Instead of smooth, organized lines, the lines on the paper seemed random and jagged, almost like they were drawn accidentally. ¡°How do I use this?¡± Victoria looked at the fox, and it immediately laid on the floor in submission. ¡°While I subdue it, hold the paper so side with the lines face the fox, then push your mana through it and towards the creature. I suggest you get close.¡± Doing as she said, he began to push his mana through the paper. The paper immediately absorbed every bit, but the connection to his mana didn¡¯t lessen, if anything it maintained. When the paper seemed to fill to capacity, he pushed the mana forward, and was surprised when the lines separated from the paper, enclosing around the fox and merging into its body. Something collided with his mind, but it was immediately subdued by the gloves essence, then shoved inside. Then there was something else. Something that he had never felt before. Like a new extension of senses. The last few lines finished merging into the fox, and he cut his mana flow from the contract and took stock of the new thing within his mind. ¡°How is it?¡± Victoria¡¯s words broke him out of his thoughts. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I can feel emotions. Fear, irritation, a lot of curiosity.¡± One of Victoria¡¯s eyebrows shot up, an expression that looked somewhat strange in combination with the redness of her eyes. ¡°No headache?¡± ¡°No, there was a bit of pressure at the beginning, but it went away.¡± The bond was actually underwhelming. Other than the new and separate emotions, which he was certain belonged to the fox, there was no other change. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t the bond do a bit more?¡± That earned a strained smile from Victoria. ¡°Most can¡¯t feel even the slightest emotions for months, and yet you''re complaining. The main function of a bond, at least such a low-level one, is the ability to be understood by a creature and command it.¡± Curiosity piqued, Dante turned to the fox. ¡°Sit.¡± The fox immediately carried out the order, going from a laying down position to a sitting one. Dante held out his hand. ¡°Jump.¡± There was a moment¡¯s hesitation this time, and he could feel irritation growing in his bond, but the fox did jump into his hand. It didn¡¯t seem to like being ordered frivolously. ¡°Can it refuse an order?¡± Victoria shrugged. ¡°It can resist. But you could just force it. I wouldn¡¯t suggest it though. As soon as you lapse mentally, it will turn on you, which wouldn¡¯t be much of a problem with an umbra fox, but it¡¯s still tedious.¡± Victoria¡¯s words had merit, and since the creature was no longer attacking him, he didn¡¯t see a point in tormenting it without reason. He went to place it on the floor, but the fox climbed on his shoulder instead, wrapping its tail around his neck. Through the bond, he could feel contentment. Letting out a sigh, Dante looked up to see a very amused Victoria. ¡°What are you going to name her?¡± ¡°Her?¡± That was slightly disappointing, he had spent so much time alone with women recently that he felt like he needed an ally. Victoria nodded. Dante let out another sigh, he didn¡¯t really see the point of naming the fox. ¡°I don¡¯t know. It has an innate stealth skill, what about Shade?¡± Victoria¡¯s eyebrows raised slightly, as if the name was stupid. ¡°Shade?¡± Dante indignantly pointed to the sky, where Victoria¡¯s bird, Shadow, was flying overhead. Its what had given him the idea. ¡°Shadow?¡± ¡°Fair point.¡± He nodded. ¡°Thought so. By the way, where are we going?¡± Victoria walked over to the raptors and began tying her bags to the harness. ¡°A war is about to start between two warlords of¡­ relatively equal power. For the next year, you will be joining the slightly weaker side in an attempt to win the war.¡± There were a few key words there. Namely ¡®relatively equal¡¯ and ¡®attempt¡¯. ¡°Why would two warlords get involved in a drawn-out fight?¡± Based on what he had learned from Melisandre¡¯s lessons, that shouldn¡¯t happen. A warlord would never willingly enter a fight that they couldn¡¯t win quickly and with few casualties. It was a lose-lose situation. Even if they won, someone else would just swoop in and try to capitalize on the situation. ¡°All along the border of the Chaos region, wraiths have been raiding large settlements to acquire more slaves for the upcoming war. Understandably, its led to a mass panic and evacuation for those who occupy that land.¡± He could feel a shiver crawl down his spine. ¡°Wraiths? They are already attacking the outer regions?¡± Seeing the fear in his eyes, Victoria rolled hers. ¡°It¡¯s not such a big deal. Despite what the church would have you think, wraiths are rather pragmatic. They wouldn¡¯t take in such a large influx of slaves if they didn¡¯t have to.¡± His knowledge on wraiths was definitely limited, as Victoria mentioned, it all came from the priests¡¯ lectures. That was still enough to know that they were far from pragmatic though. ¡°Pragmatic? They practically eradicated the outer regions during the last campaign.¡± Victoria shrugged. ¡°It doesn¡¯t really matter. The important thing is the upcoming war. The weaker warlord has an open contract with the guild, and I¡¯ve already accepted it. Until the fighting actually starts, we will be behind enemy lines sabotaging the supply lines through ambush.¡± That didn¡¯t sound too terrible. With Victoria¡¯s help, he mounted the harness on the back of his raptor, and they were off. Chapter 80 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 80 Dante rubbed his eyes, trying to keep himself awake. He didn¡¯t understand why he had even bothered to store a bed if he couldn¡¯t use it. To his left, was his slave master, or just master for short. He had almost forgotten how much of a sadist Victoria was. Three days without sleep, and now he was expected to fight. The treatment was unbearable. Renewing his focus, Dante took stock of the two-wagon caravan in front of them. The wagons were pulled by two horses each, and were heavily guarded. Six melee combatant¡¯s on each side, twelve in total, and three others with bows on the wagons themselves. There was also a fourth combatant on the second wagon, who was idly twirling knives as he sat in a relaxed manner. Other than those sixteen, there was one more potential threat, a random variable. Sitting somewhat close to the wagon drivers in the first wagon was an old man, unarmed, yet also completely relaxed. It was impossible to tell, but there was a possibility that he had some form of a magic Classification. Victoria gently prodded him in the side, and the two of them retreated further into the woods from where they were watching. He also recalled Shade through his bond, a useful trick. The fox had been scouting the surrounding forest with its heightened senses to make sure there weren¡¯t any other members of the caravan about, and hadn¡¯t found anything. Now far enough away, Victoria looked at him inquisitively. ¡°What do you think?¡± Dante did his best to look haggard. ¡°I think I need a nap.¡± Victoria¡¯s eyes narrowed in annoyance, then she dug into her pockets. She withdrew a very tiny pill. Seeing it caused him to flinch, the pill would be the object of his nightmares if he managed to sleep. Relucantly, Dante took it and ate it. He was instantly filled with energy and wide awake, yet tired at the same time. The feeling was uncomfortable, but it would suffice for the coming fight. ¡°Overall, it doesn¡¯t seem to be that bad. I don¡¯t have any confidence in succeeding though. I shouldn¡¯t have too much of a problem with the regular combatants, but the old man and the one with the daggers might cause problems.¡± Victoria nodded. ¡°A decent analysis. For your first ambush I won¡¯t give you much advice. Just do as much as you can and I¡¯ll help you with the rest. Afterwards, we can talk about things that you can improve on, as well as tactics that you could have used. Honestly, you don¡¯t really have a chance of handling this on your own. They are all veterans, and you¡¯ll run out of mana before you manage to kill them all. I just want to get a feel for where your natural inclinations are in this first fight.¡± Dante¡¯s expression became unsightly. He had done the ¡®try first, learn later¡¯ method of teaching with Archie, and it definitely wasn¡¯t pleasant. Seeing his expression, Victoria rolled her eyes. ¡°Just relax. Remember, you are in control of this fight. Everything is up to you to decide, on your terms. You aren¡¯t fighting for your life, but to gain power. Prioritize your life and wellbeing over taking the lives of the enemy.¡± He wanted to mention that he was fighting on her terms, and that everything decided was up to her, but thought better of it. What she said did change his perspective though. ¡°By the way, the reward for the wagons are 1,500 world essence each.¡± That took his breath away. ¡°1,500 each? For what?¡± ¡°There are some benefits to working as a hired killer. 1,500 world essence is the negotiated price for each wagon, the warlord wanted to give us gold, but I convinced him. There should be a sealed invoice from the seller for each, we just need to turn those in to get paid in essence crystals.¡± Victoria¡¯s voice cut off as she became alert, and a few seconds later Shade trotted into the view. Through the bond he could feel that the fox was proud to have done its job, even though it didn¡¯t accomplish anything. Seeing the fox, Victoria relaxed. ¡°The invoice will either be with the wagon drivers, within the wagons themselves, or with the strongest combatants. Be careful not to destroy them, even breaking the seal with render them null and void according to the contract.¡± The fox pounced up onto his shoulder and dug its nails into his clothes to stabilize its position. He could feel how content it was. His shoulder seemed to be its new favorite resting spot. ¡°Wont it be problematic if they are on the combatants? One unlucky slash would cost me 1,500 world essence.¡± Victoria shrugged. ¡°Aim for the throat.¡± ¡°Of course, if only I had thought of that.¡± His voice was dripping with sarcasm. He was awarded with a glare from Victoria. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± They easily outpaced the slow caravan as they followed alongside the road. There were a few forks, where the road diverted into two separate paths, but they knew that the caravan was headed to a stronghold north of them so it wasn¡¯t an issue. When Victoria had said that she wouldn¡¯t give him much advice for the first ambush, she clearly meant that she wouldn¡¯t give him any. He even had to choose the location for the ambush himself. Choosing his spot ¨C it was an area of the road that was completely overrun by vegetation, even the trees overhead were also the densest in the area, creating a thick canopy ¨C Dante looked around and began to formulate his plan. The largest known threat was likely the combatant that was twirling a knife in a relaxed manner, and the largest potential threat was the old man if he had a magic Classification. It was also likely that he had specialized at least once, if not twice, since he was so old. Unfortunately, since the two of them were also sitting on the wagons, they were by far the most protected. He started by creating and scattering weapons throughout the underbrush on the sides of the road. They would be a decent distraction for his opening move, and the rest could be called when needed throughout the fight. He had a few more ideas, like pit traps and trip wires that could be triggered with manipulate blade, but there was a time restraint. By the time he set up, Victoria had already disappeared, likely by using some stealth skill to spectate the fight. Dante ordered Shade down from his shoulder, then told the fox to scout the surrounding forest for anything that might surprise him. That done, he hopped into the canopy overhead, doing his best to hide himself from view. Things would have been much simpler with a stealth skill.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. In the canopy, he pulled out his enchanted sword and dagger, a created sword, as well as the glove he bought from Charlotte in Desas. The mana drain in his opening move would be extreme, so he would need to eliminate the two big threats, as well as the three archers as quickly as possible. After that, his speed should be enough to handle the rest of the infantry at his leisure. About 15 minutes of constant worry later, he saw the first wagon round a curve and come into view. Dante rechecked his position for what had to have been the hundredth time, making sure that he was still carefully hidden. He also checked in with Shade, and was pleased that she still hadn¡¯t stumbled upon unwelcome guests. After making sure that nothing had gone awry, he waited. The wagons were agonizingly slow, but he was thrilled that none of them seemed to be worried with what was above them. Both the archers and the melee combatants on the side only casually scanned the forest periodically, everyone else was lax. When the old man was directly beneath him, he made his move. Dante fell to the wagon, using gravity instead of Blink in an effort to preserve mana. As he fell, the spare sword he made shot down toward the man twirling his knife with the aid of manipulate blade. Then he shifted his focus, pulling 5 weapons from the left side of the road, two shooting toward a single horse on each wagon, the other three aiming for each archer. Finishing off his attack, he activated both the artificer¡¯s glove and Oppressive Will as he plunged his sword into the old man below him. The sword sunk into the old man¡¯s flesh as the awareness of the artificer¡¯s glove activated. He immediately became aware of two knives shooting toward him. The dagger in his free hand flashed out blocking one as he dodged the other. The rest of his swords reached their destination and he heard two groans and the cry of two horses. One of them had been blocked. On the bright side, the heavy wagons weren¡¯t going anywhere with a single horse pulling them. Cries of alarm rang out around him, both from the surprise attack from the woods and from the effects of his Oppressive Will. Dante looked down at the old man beneath him to check his condition ¨C still alive, and looking quite angry. Trying to dispatch him quickly, Dante attempted to twist the sword that was stuck in the old man¡¯s chest cavity. The sword was lodged in place and didn¡¯t budge in the slightest, he couldn¡¯t even yank it out. One look at the wound he inflicted and he could see why, it was surrounding with manipulated mana inside of the old mans chest. Not only was the sword stuck, but the wound didn¡¯t bleed at all. He stabbed down with his dagger, aiming for the throat, but a wall of manipulated mana slowed the dagger just enough to stop the blow from being fatal. Cursing, Dante jumped back as two more daggers flew at him from the second wagon. As he did so, the old man reached out his hand and an orb of fire enveloped it, uncurling into a large whip, which then shot toward him as though it was sentient. In mid-air, and with no other means of escaping the molten whip, Dante Blinked, wasting the 30 mana. Things weren¡¯t going well, and he cursed his stupidity. He had used his enchanted sword even though he didn¡¯t have the opportunity to activate it with all his other skills, and now the old man was able to sustain himself with it lodged in his body. If it were one of his created blades, he could have broken it and destroyed the structural integrity of the manipulated mana, killing him in seconds. Taking hold of Victoria¡¯s advice, Dante blinked sideways, disappearing from his enemies view as he appeared in the dense forest. Then he used his remaining mana to shoot dozens of swords into his enemies as he retreated, only to be stopped by Victoria. ¡°Smart. I was just about to intervene.¡± Victoria walked out onto the road and her body flickered as she stabbed a dagger into those who were still alive. Not a single person was able to react before she got to them. When Victoria was done, she reappeared before him. ¡°It wasn¡¯t bad for a first attempt, that mage ruined things though. He was quite crafty.¡± That was one way of describing it. The mage preserved himself with mana manipulation so he could take his killers life. ¡°He was a regular mage? I hadn¡¯t seen his skill before.¡± Victoria shrugged. ¡°A fire whip is a pretty common upgrade from the fireball skill. You¡¯ll run into it quite often, since the fireball skill is so desired by magic Classifications.¡± Dante walked up to those Victoria downed by the wagons as he recalled Shade. ¡°Why is that anyways?¡± She took down twelve people, including the four wagon drivers, bringing his kill total to nine. Shooting the enemy with swords from the opposite side of the road was far more effective than he had thought. ¡°Although it is pretty weak, it has hundreds of upgrade variations, some of its rarer upgrades are ridiculously powerful. And since the skill is so common, magic Classifications will pick it up if there aren¡¯t better alternatives just to see what upgrade can be attained through specialization. If they don¡¯t get anything good, they usually disregard the skill completely, unless they need to accomplish some menial task like starting a fire.¡± Victoria indicated to the mage. ¡°The whip upgrade is mediocre, not too good, not too bad. He likely didn¡¯t have a decent skill to choose from when he specialized. It¡¯s just the way of things.¡± He hadn¡¯t expected his question to be answered so thoroughly, but was thankful for it. It was a shame that he didn¡¯t have such a knowledgeable person with him when he chose his Classifications and first skills. ¡°You didn¡¯t kill them?¡± All of the people that Victoria stabbed were still breathing. ¡°No, I left them for you. I don¡¯t need the world essence.¡± Seeing his inquisitive glance, Victoria continued. ¡°I poisoned my dagger.¡± Dante grit his teeth and got to work. It felt dirty to end them like that, but he had already resolved himself to killing these people. ¡°So, what did I do wrong?¡± Victoria walked to one of the wagons and pulled off the canvas that covered it, revealing stores of food. ¡°Quite a few things, but for your first time, and without guidance, you did well.¡± She tossed the canvas back down, disinterested. ¡°Your opening move was strong, but costed you too much mana. You lost most of your element of surprise with your Oppressive Will skill, as soon as the man with the knife felt it he honed in on you. And you didn¡¯t go for killing blows, you just attacked with the intention of injuring them.¡± Victoria uncovered the second wagon, which was also was stored with food. ¡°Your timing was also a mess, and you didn¡¯t play to any of your strengths aside from your skills.¡± She turned to face him. ¡°On the other hand, you did a lot of things right. Namely, running when you thought you may be injured, despite knowing that you could still take a few more enemies down.¡± Done killing, Dante checked the wagons, then the bodies of all of the combatants, immediately storing anything he found to be of interest as well as any spare coins. He kept it discreet, but he pressed his glove on the wounds of their bodies as he did so, absorbing their blood. He found the invoices on the old mage and the knife twirler¡¯s bodies. Fortunately, both were intact. Seeing that he was done searching, Victoria pulled out a vial of powder and began sprinkling it over the corpses and the wagons. When she was done, Victoria pressed a bit of world essence into it to ignite the powder. Victoria saw his interest in the powder. ¡°Fire powder from the warlord. Everything we don¡¯t keep is to be burned. A bit of a waste, but dragging it all the way back south would be close to impossible, and isn¡¯t something the guild would agree to anyways.¡± Dante drearily watched the roaring fire envelop everything. He couldnt help but think about what a waste it was. "I could have kept the food..." "Yes, I''m sure you would have put two carts full of grain to good use." Victoria pulled out another one of those small pills and handed it to him. "If you want grain, there will be plenty of it." Dante took the pill, looked at it, then looked up at Victoria. He did his best to look pathetic. ¡°It¡¯s going to be hard to take my nap if I eat this.¡± Victoria looked amused. ¡°Who said anything about sleeping?¡± Chapter 81 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 81 Dante narrowly avoided the blue-bellied lizard¡¯s charge, leaping out of the way, then rolling to the side as its blue tongue lashed out. After avoiding the long tongue, he looked at the patch of grass where it landed and winced. The grass was quickly eroding into a liquid and mixing into the poisonous blue saliva the creature left behind. Dante popped up off the floor, and immediately put space between him and the seven-foot lizard. On his shoulder, Shade hissed, and he could feel agitation from being jostled coming through the bond. The stupid fox was useless. Not one to be outdone, the lizard hissed back at Shade, then charged again. Despite its bulk, the creature was stupidly fast. Dante continued to dodge the spikes that sprouted from its black scales as he pumped world essence into his legs, in the periphery of his vision he could see Victoria¡¯s eyes narrow. He ignored her. It took him almost half a minute to get enough in his right leg to condense it, slower than his average time, but he was distracted. When he was able to maintain it, Dante shifted his focus to the spear in his hands, condensing the world essence into it. His fight with the blue-bellied lizard had devolved to him running in circles, but thankfully it stayed agitated enough to continue chasing him. After condensing the world essence, he began to form it, only occasionally slipping up when he used the shaft of the spear to deflect the lizard¡¯s charge. When he formed it into a spiraling vortex, he was ready. Dante dodged backward as he activated his Rebirth of the Revenant passive to 5%, a debilitating amount. Hopefully. As soon as the lizard charged, he leaped to the side as far as he could, then planted his right leg, discharging all of the world essence inside of it into the ground as he did so. Dante gritted his teeth as he felt a few of muscles in his leg shred, but the desired effect was achieved. He shot forward, spear outstretched, and impaled the lizard through its side. Warm blood sprayed out of the lizard¡¯s wound, and he could feel the muscles in his leg itch as they repaired, indicating that he had taken the lizard¡¯s life. Dante slumped to the floor as he let out a relieved breath, waiting for his passive¡¯s side effects to kick in. Hoping that 7% would knock him out in his tired state. He would have done the full 7%, but didn¡¯t want to be out for days. ¡°You¡¯re a quick study.¡± Dante flinched as Victoria suddenly appeared. She was standing over him, looking down as the leg that was visibly healing. She didn¡¯t look too happy. ¡°I told you not amplify your speed until you could finish the second level of the spectral attunement.¡± Dante cleared his throat, trying to stall for time. A minute and a half left. ¡°I know, but my passive can take care of the damage, and there isn¡¯t any risk of nerve damage.¡± Six days of almost nonstop training had seen to that. They had stopped periodically so that he could practice the basics of alchemy, and to stop a single caravan, but the rest of the time was spent on the spectral attunement¡¯s second level. Victoria placed her bag down next to him and began digging through it. Dante watched in horror, she was going to give him another one of those evil pills. He didn¡¯t know how much longer she was planning on depriving him of sleep, but the effects were catching up with him. His thinking was becoming slow, and his actions increasingly erratic. It was even beginning to negatively affect his training. ¡°Here, eat this.¡± Victoria handed him a new pill. It was larger than the ones she had usually given him, but the same black color. Dante took the pill in his hand, but began to stall for time. A minute left. ¡°What is it?¡± Victoria continued to move things around in her pack, rearranging all of the items that she had just moved to get to the larger pill. ¡°Something I cooked up while I was away. It should counteract the effects of your passive.¡± She glanced over. ¡°Unless you overdid it with the heal. I¡¯m not sure how effective it will be though. I had to replace two plants that don¡¯t grow around here with red drelda and eevedil, so the recipe is modified.¡± Dante looked at the pill. Those two plants were surprisingly common, and if he could learn how to make the pill, it would make a massive impact on his survivability. Unfortunately, in the past few days, he had deduced that he had no real ability in alchemy. He had nothing to compare himself to, but every step of the process seemed to be an overwhelming hurdle that he had to climb over. ¡°That kill should have given you enough world essence to specialize your revenant Classification. Now that we got that out of the way, we can finally slow things down a bit.¡± Dante froze. ¡°Does that mean¡­?¡± Victoria nodded. ¡°Yes, it means that you can stop pestering me about using that stupid bed.¡± Despite her words, she looked equally excited to finally get some sleep. She had been taking just as many of those sleep depriving pills as he had. Wasting no further time, Dante popped the pill in his mouth and ate it. If he was finally going to get some sleep, he was going to enjoy it. He no longer needed to be knocked out by the effects of his passive. The pill got into his system just as the passive¡¯s side effect kicked in. It felt like a someone had dropped a mountain on him, far worse than usual. Thankfully, the weight on his muscles slowly began to recede as the pill¡¯s effect permeated through his body. Dante struggled to sit up. Even without the feeling of an enormous weight resting on him, the soreness was also equally unbearable. ¡°Why did we go so many days without sleeping?¡± He was eager to specialize his revenant Classification, but not to the extent that he would go days without getting any rest. Victoria moved to the dead lizard. She flipped it over on it¡¯s back. In contrast to the black colored scales on its back, it¡¯s stomach was a bright and vivid blue. ¡°I don¡¯t know much about your Revenant Classification. In fact, I¡¯ve never heard of it. It¡¯s properties sound more like a variant Classification than a regular one. So, it would have been pointless to begin teaching you how to fight when a new skill could flip everything on its head. Since we are limited on time, I wanted to get specializing it out of the way as early as possible.¡± Begrudgingly, he had to admit that Victoria¡¯s reasoning was valid. He didn¡¯t like it though. ¡°Why didn¡¯t we just turn in those invoices then?¡±A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°Even by raptor, it¡¯s a day¡¯s ride to Warlord Vidal¡¯s main stronghold. Two days wasted counting the travel time to come back, so it wasn¡¯t worth it by the time we had enough invoices.¡± Dante nodded, then opened the Classifications tab in his Status. World Essence waiting to be assigned: 10,433 Chronomancer lvl 11/20 (0/11,000 world essence) Blademancer lvl 11/20 (0/11,000 world essence) Blade Dancer lvl 11/20 (0/11,000 world essence) Revenant lvl 10/10 (0/10,000 world essence) Recent world essence gain: 943 World Essence for killing: Blue-Bellied Lizard The blue-bellied lizard was definitely deserving of its two-star rating, 943 world essence was a staggering amount. Dante fed the requisite amount of world essence into his Revenant Classification. Choose Specialization Skill or Upgrade for Revenant: Upgrade Rebirth of the Revenant (passive) to Regeneration of the Revenant (passive): Regeneration of the Revenant: Regenerate 1% of max HP and 1% of max mana every time you kill. Insurmountable (passive): +5% Constitution 50% resistance to mental attacks Revenant¡¯s Perseverance (passive): Require half as much sleep, and recover from exhaustion twice as fast. Juggernaut (passive): 10% reduced damage taken from kinetic attacks 50% resistance to movement impairing skills Looking at the skills, he couldn¡¯t help but think that he had been scammed when he chose the Rebirth of the Revenant skill. The ¡®upgrade¡¯, if you could even call it that, made it far worse. It¡¯s saving grace was the mana regeneration. That was useful. Even at 1%. The only other notable change was the wording. Instead of heal, it said regenerate. Hopefully that was significant. Scanning down the rest of the list, his emotions began to heavily conflict. Revenant¡¯s Perseverance. In his half exhausted, half energized state, the effects sounded divine. Not only would the exhaustion recovery help with his Rebirth of the Revenant passive, but he would only need half the usual amount of sleep. ¡­ but that might not necessarily be a good thing. He wanted more sleep if anything. The other skills were overwhelmingly powerful to his untrained eye, but he decided that Victoria needed to interpret them for him. By the time he finished reading the list to Victoria, her expression had shifted through almost a dozen emotions. ¡°You said you got this Classification on the day of holy bestowal?¡± Dante nodded, technically he got it the day after, but he decided not to divulge that little detail. ¡°It should be a variant Classification, at least based on my experience. But that¡¯s obviously not the case since you can choose your skills. It¡¯s interesting.¡± Victoria seemed to lose herself in thought as she pulled out a dagger and began carefully slicing into the blue stomach of the lizard. Dante cleared his throat. ¡°That is interesting, but doesn¡¯t really impact the choice of skills, right? Which one should I choose?¡± He didn¡¯t understand how she could take her time in such a situation. They were one decision away from blissful sleep. Victoria didn¡¯t even look up. ¡°Upgrade your current skill.¡± Victoria didn¡¯t seem to care about the choice at all. ¡°That¡¯s it? Shouldn¡¯t you, uh, let me choose after you explain the skills in detail?¡± Victoria pulled a strange intestinal sack out of the lizard, then she reached back and grabbed a jar from her bag, then sliced into the sack. Bright blue liquid oozed from the sack and was collected carefully into the jar. ¡°Of course. You should upgrade the skill because it gives you mana, and the amount of mana will grow along with your Intelligence. I would trade any of my skills for just that alone. But it also regenerates instead of heals, so you won¡¯t have any feeling of exhaustion that world essence healing brings.¡± The fact that Victoria specified that his healing was world essence healing made him speechless. She had never mentioned it, and it was likely she had some information he could have used. ¡°The sleep resistant skill isn¡¯t necessary, and you won¡¯t have exhaustion problems after you upgrade your first skill.¡± Seeing his glare at the mention of sleeping not being an issue, she continued. ¡°Those pills may be unpleasant, but they are effective. And they are mellow, so there aren¡¯t any residual effects.¡± Victoria finished filling the fourth jar and grabbed another. ¡°The other two skills are good. Really good. But they don¡¯t compare to the benefits you will receive from the extra mana in a fight. You are already proficient in blocking mental attacks, and mobility impairing skills are too uncommon to waste a skill on. Aside from that, the defensive bonuses are negligible on both accounts.¡± He did agree with Victoria¡¯s assessment, but still wished that she could show a bit more interest. ¡°Why did we spend all day hunting that stupid lizard anyways?¡± Are you sure you want to upgrade Rebirth of the Revenant (passive) to Regeneration of the Revenant (passive)? Yes/No *Warning: any skills chosen are final* He chose yes. Attribute change for Revenant Classification, new attribute gain per level: +1 Strength +2 Constitution Victoria held up one of the jars as though it was a precious treasure. ¡°The poison of the blue-bellied lizard doesn¡¯t corrode metal, at all, so it¡¯s perfect for your created weapons. And the poison from its gland is far more concentrated than what you dealt with earlier, since it hasn¡¯t mixed with the creature¡¯s saliva.¡± Dante glanced at the patch of grass that was liquefied by the lizard¡¯s saliva and winced. If the concentrated version would likely be worse, he almost felt bad for the people he would be using it on. ¡°Will the poison stay on my blades if I store them?¡± Victoria nodded. ¡°It should. When created by relics, spatial storage can affect the objects stored in strange ways. I doubt that¡¯s the case with your skill though. Give me one of your daggers.¡± Dante created a dagger, then placed it into Victoria¡¯s waiting hand. She pulled out a strange looking tool, what seemed to be a fluffy white ball connected to a handle by a metal wire, then dipped it into the blue poison. Victoria then applied the poison to the blade by carefully wiping it down with the white ball. When done, Victoria held the tool over the jar and fed world essence into the white ball, forcing all the leftover poison to drip into jar. Victoria handed the dagger to him by the handle. The blade now had a faint blue tint to it. ¡°Be careful not to touch the poison, it doesn¡¯t need to pierce your skin to corrode it.¡± He couldn¡¯t help but think that the poison was a bit much if that was the case. Dante stored the weapon, then waited about half a minute for good measure, and retrieved it. It was the same, still maintaining the light blue tint that indicated the poison was still on it. ¡°We¡¯ll need to reapply it after every use, or its effects will diminish, but you shouldn¡¯t have much of a problem with the caravans now.¡± Dante nodded along with her words, but wasn¡¯t really listening any longer. He pulled out his bed frame from his storage, then did the same with the mattress, blankets, and pillows. That done, he ordered Shade to alert him if there were any intruders before lying down with a content sigh. ¡°You¡¯re going to sleep here?¡± Dante slowly opened one eye, and saw Victoria standing only a few feet away by the lizard¡¯s corpse with her arms crossed. There were bags under her red eyes from the lack of sleep, and he vaguely sensed that she was a bit jealous that he had a bed. ¡°Our camp is three hours away, even if we run. Yes, I¡¯m going to sleep here.¡± Victoria could travel for hours to sleep on the floor if she wanted, he had come prepared. Victoria looked longingly at the bed for several seconds. ¡°Scoot over.¡± Without even waiting, Victoria shoved him to the far side of the bed, only an inch away from falling off the edge before lying down next to him. Now facing away from Victoria, Dante glared into the open forest in front of him. He bit back a few choice words that were on the tip of his tongue. First Victoria kept him up for six full days, and now, she took his bed. Well, half of his bed. It was the principle of the matter though. This matter was not concluded, she could be sure of that. A line had been crossed, and he was definitely going to speak his mind¡­ after a quick nap. Chapter 82 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 82 With sweat on his brow, Dante carefully poured the oil from the eldrisa leaf into the glass vial that contained the mixture of srite, hasse, dream brier, and aiclerry. When it didn¡¯t explode, he let out a sigh of relief. He had used the correct amount of srite. Dante then looked at the recipe that was resting in front of him. The next step was to carefully infuse world essence into it while heating the mixture. What that achieved, he had no idea. He held the vial over the controlled flame in front of him. The ¡®raw fire¡¯ was fed into a strange cylinder, which let out a constant flame through the top. It was enchanted, the pink flame was indication enough, but he hadn¡¯t bothered to ask Victoria why, there was already enough that he needed to know without worrying about something that didn¡¯t really matter. As soon as the heat touched the world essence filled vial, the mixture began to bubble. Dante grit his teeth, and slowly lessened the amount of world essence he added to it. He didn¡¯t do it quickly, from past experience, he knew that doing so would completely ruin it. The excess liquid began to evaporate, leaving an almost syrupy residue in the vial. He took the vial off the fire and allowed it to cool off. Dante took a few deep breaths. It had to cool, but ever so slightly, if the temperature dropped too much he would have to restart. Mentally preparing himself, Dante condensed the world essence that was already inside of the vial, then he began to wrap his mana around it. He slowly pressed on the mixture, allowing the world essence to destroy the rest of the moisture as he formed the pill. So close. ¡°What are you doing.¡± Dante flinched, it was slight, but even that could ruin everything. He sent a feeling of disappointment and rebuke through the bond to let Shade know that he was pissed off. The fox took a break from its nap, raised its head, then lowered it back to the ground as it continued to rest. Useless. Victoria continued to watch from the side as he finished forming the pill. He had finally succeeded. Dante pulled the finished pill from the vial, it was a bit clunky and discolored, but it would still do something. Probably. Victoria looked over his shoulder to see the recipe book that was open in front of him. ¡°Your performance was passable, I suppose, but I don¡¯t see why you wasted your time on that.¡± Dante looked at the ¡®Ever Night¡¯ recipe in front of him, a smile forming on his face as he held the finished product. Not only did the pill slow down one¡¯s metabolism, but it also put them to sleep for days. It was a lesser form of the hibernation pill, a tier three pill that he had no hope of creating. ¡°That might be your opinion.¡± Victoria rolled her eyes. ¡°If you use that, you might fall asleep for a few hours at the absolute most.¡± Dante looked at his lumpy pill, half of his excitement was now gone. ¡°Why are you back so early, did you actually find something?¡± Every break he got from Victoria, he had tried to make the Ever Night pill. His plan was to take it before she returned when he finally made it, but his plans had been ruined. All because of one negligent fox. He needed to find some form of punishment for the stupid thing. ¡°Actually, yes. It¡¯s the largest caravan so far.¡± That made him perk up. ¡°Oh? How far away?¡± They hadn¡¯t found a caravan in over five days, he was beginning to think that they had completely given up. He had even suggested to Victoria that they let a few through to build up their confidence, but she completely rejected the idea. Victoria walked over to the fox and began to pet it. ¡°About three hours away.¡± Dante stored away the alchemy equipment, as well as the plants he had partially processed. Then, he stood and stretched himself out. That single pill had taken four hours of arduous work. He glanced at Victoria and his fox in dissatisfaction. It had purposefully kept quiet, it definitely would have sensed Victoria¡¯s arrival. The two of them had grown increasingly close for some reason. He had known having a female fox would be problematic, it was two against one. ¡°Do you need to encourage mutiny with my bonded creature? How would you like it if I did the same with your bird?¡± Victoria laughed, it seemed that she found the thought amusing. ¡°Go ahead and try.¡± She stood, and irritatingly enough, the stupid fox jumped on her shoulder. Dante glared at it, he had been trying not to order Shade around, as she didn¡¯t like it, but the fox was trying his patience. Dante looked up at Shadow, who was flying overhead. After thinking it over, he let out a sigh of defeat. ¡°Lead the way.¡± The caravan might have been three hours away when Victoria had found it, but they moved their camp so it was somewhat close to Warlord Karabell¡¯s main stronghold, so it only took them a bit over two hours to find it slowly crawling down the road. Warlord Karabell led the invading force, or the refugee force, depending on how you looked at it. He had been slowly marching his army south, ever closer to Warlord Vidal¡¯s forces. Like every caravan, he scouted it first. Victoria had stopped helping him almost a month and a half ago. The caravan was massive, twelve wagons pulled by two horses each, and two dozen mounted troops beside them. Marching alongside those mounted troops were melee combatants, roughly thirty. And on each of the wagons was between three to four archers. There were also five unarmed men, and one unarmed woman. From past experience, he knew that they were magic Classifications. Victoria had said it was a large caravan, that was laughable, it was a small army. Dante nudged Victoria, and the two of them receded back into the forest. ¡°Too much?¡± She had a look of mock satisfaction on her face. He had been complaining that the caravan fights were too easy. Dante rolled his eyes. ¡°The mages might give me a bit of trouble, but that¡¯s not why I pulled you back here. I don¡¯t want to ambush them.¡± Victoria didn¡¯t seem overly surprised. ¡°Don¡¯t you think that you¡¯re getting a bit too confident?¡± He nodded. ¡°Probably. But we both know that there aren¡¯t going to be many more caravans, if any. Other than when we spar, I haven really had a chance to practice my movement in an actual fight.¡± Victoria reached her hand up to scratch Shade¡¯s ear as she thought it over. ¡°I suppose you can, but make sure you keep enough mana in reserve to Blink. Even if I were to intervene in this fight, I can¡¯t guarantee your safety if things get out of hand.¡± Dante created a spear. Victoria¡¯s warning wasn¡¯t needed, there were too many variables. If he got caught out without Blink, she wouldn¡¯t be able to block every attack that came at him. Well, she might be able to. He hadn¡¯t seen her use a single skill yet, and she seemed to purposefully hold back. ¡°I¡¯ll still set up, just in case.¡± He then created a few daggers and slid them in his boots. They would be easily accessible with manipulate blade, and something he would¡¯ve had in a standard fight. He would have used poison coated weapons, but they were too unwieldy, and he would likely poison himself if he kept them in his boots. After breaking away from Victoria, Dante ran alongside the road, spreading out the tiny poison covered knives as he pulled them out of his storage. ¡®Knives¡¯ was a relatively loose term, they were more like tiny razors that had the smallest handle possible, just large enough so he didn¡¯t accidentally poison himself. He also intermittently scattered larger weapons. Standard swords and spears. They were eye catching, and made to be that way, used as a distraction so that his enemies wouldn¡¯t see the tiny blades coming. After using this tactic, there wasn¡¯t any need to actually take part in the fights, he could just sit in the forest and lob weapons at the caravans until they were all dead. If they found him, which was unlikely when he didn¡¯t shoot any weapons that were close to his hiding place, he just blinked further down the road and repeated the process. It was effective, but made the rest of his training seem somewhat useless in comparison. After he finished setting up, Dante waited until the caravan was in place, then nonchalantly walked in front of the small army, spear resting over his shoulder and world essence pumping through his legs.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Halt!¡± As soon as he stepped onto the road, everything jerked to a stop. One the men on the horses moved a single step forward to single himself out, while the rest switched between scanning the forest and staring at him, looking for a potential threat. ¡°We are men of Warlord Karabell. Retreat, or be cut down.¡± The man on the horse uncurled a whip that was made out of several pieces of jointed metal. Dante watched the combatants in front of him, ready for any attack. ¡®Cut down¡¯ was an interesting choice of words when he wielded such a strange whip. It was clear that they didn¡¯t take him to be a real threat, at least alone, none of them watched him carefully, their eyes only rested on him momentarily before shifting back to scan the forest. He would have attacked, but doing so before they were ready would defeat the purpose of not ambushing them in the first place. ¡°Form ranks!¡± At the command from the whip wielder, all the men on horses dismounted as one, unsheathing their weapons as they did so. As if controlled, their horses moved on their own, retreating behind the last wagon of the caravan. The rest of the troops squeezed in, taking a protective stance while the archers and mages took aim. Mana shields went up, and world essence filled weapons. Surprisingly, only four of them had arrows trained on him, and none of them fired. Dante didn¡¯t move, didn¡¯t say a word, just watched. Those with the caravan stood at the ready, waiting for an attack but not initiating one. Those few seconds stretched on, and the tension increased. He was surprised by how much his calm countenance seemed to unnerve them, it was something that he marked down to experiment with later. Now that they were thoroughly prepared, it was time to fight. Dante activated his gauntlet and slammed the world essence that was filling his legs into the soles of his feet, then yanked it back into his legs as he shot forward with an overwhelming force. Shouts of alarm rang out as the first volley of arrows and a bolt of lightning shot at him. Intent on fully utilizing the second level of the spectral attunement during the fight, he didn¡¯t blink, but shoved his feet back into the ground. The abrupt change in direction made the muscles in his ankles feel like they were tearing apart, but he got the desired effect, shooting himself sideways and into the ranks of the enemy combatants. His arrival was too fast, and his enemies¡¯ reaction was delayed, making it easy for him to swipe at two of their throats before he felt a slight shift under his feet and sensed an arrow coming at him. Dante shot backward diagonally, making a hasty retreat as the stone spikes erupted from the ground. The spikes were slightly unnerving, if his reaction was even slightly delayed that wouldn¡¯t have ended well. He watched, a bit depressed as that single arrow curved through the air and came back toward him. He had experienced the skill in another ambush, and it was more than a bit annoying. Dante scanned the caravan for the source of the skill, if he let that archer get going, there could be dozens of trajectory changing arrows targeting him as they flew through the air. He was unable to identify the source, but was able to see two mages use a bestial manifestation skill. One of them was a snake made of fire, and the other was a bird created from lightning, both sentient, and annoying. They had definitely brought out the most spectacular troops for this caravan. Dante grit his teeth, he hadn¡¯t used his mana yet, but his enemies would still roll over him if he didn¡¯t eliminate the big threats. The strain on his legs was also a potential problem. Victoria said it would lessen as his control increased, but for now there were limitations to the amount he could use the second level of the spectral attunement. Dante shot alongside the wagons until he was next to the second, putting himself in front of the troops that were guarding it before coming to a stop and Blinking just before the bestial manifestations reached him. Exclamations of shock rang out as he vanished, and everyone seemed to realize the gravity of the situation that they were in. Dante appeared on top of the second wagon, taking the unsuspecting archers and magic combatant with his spear while manipulating all the daggers in his boots and shooting them into those in the adjacent wagons. He no longer randomly hit his targets. Instead, every dagger lodged inside an eye, heart, or throat. The move had cost him a decent amount of mana, but almost half of it was recovered with his passive, and the lightning bird manifestation was now gone with its caster. Gathering his daggers with a thought, Dante jumped off the second wagon, moving down to the forth. His daggers shot out, taking the archers as he landed on the fourth wagon, but the sole mage was ready, and a wall of mana blocked his dagger as the mage threw himself off the wagon and into the melee combatants that were just becoming aware of his presence. With his gauntlet¡¯s awareness, he felt the fire snake enter into close proximity. Dante¡¯s knuckles tightened on his spear as he went for an all or nothing attack on the mage that fell off the wagon, piercing him through the heart just before the fire snake reached him. The manifested creature dissipated, and Dante Blinked out as those surrounding troops stabbed down at him. Fortunately, or unfortunately, only one blade pierced his skin. A deep slash on his left arm that pierced to the bone. He checked for any signs of fast acting poison as he escaped from their reach. Thankfully, there didn¡¯t seem to be anything on the opponent¡¯s blade that would be an immediate concern, and anything that was slow acting would be resolved by Victoria. Dante shot forward, moving down the line of wagons, and bringing a rain of arrows and a bolt of lightning with him. His strategy for the time being was simple. Use his overwhelming speed to stop himself from being ganged up on, any time the enemies looked like they would surround him he would move on. Annoyingly, there were now four trajectory changing arrows that flew at him, one coming from the back of the caravan instead of the spot he had just moved from, likely where the shots originated from. According to Victoria, there were three ways to stop the arrows from chasing him after they locked onto the mana inside his body. Kill the skill¡¯s caster, escape its range, or deplete his mana completely. Only one of those was a real option, escaping their range was too challenging when they flew so fast. Dante moved to the back of the caravan, and began to systematically slaughter all of the archers. He only needed to finish off two wagons worth before the arrows relented their chase. He then shifted his focus, moving along the wagons until he was next to one of the female mages, the one who shot bolts of lightning at him. He blinked behind her, then shoved his spear through her heart from behind. The action cause him to wince, he usually left the women for Victoria, but the bolts of lightning were too fast for him to be certain that he could dodge them. After that, things were far easier. He killed the mage that was creating the earth spikes under his feet, finished off the archers, then moved on to the regular combatants. He tore through them, spear flashing as it sliced throats, daggers flying through the air as they tore through eyes and lodged themselves into hearts. He even corrupted each weapon when he thought it necessary. Killing them had almost become too easy, and with the constant kills, he was able to keep two blades flying through the air and his gauntlet activated without losing any mana. Even the minor cuts he received as the fight progressed healed almost immediately. The fight devolved into a massacre, and several of the combatants tried to flee before they were taken by the poison razors that were waiting in the forest. They all died with a mere thought. There were a few left, all of them were the ones previously mounted on the horses. They seemed to be of a higher caliber than the rest of the melee combatants, but none of them could block his spear and the two daggers at the same time. The last combatant who was alive was the one with the metal whip, each segment moving independently to block each part of his three-pronged attack. The man looked crazed, hollowly laughing as his eyes glanced over his fallen comrades. ¡°We wondered why you fucking cowards rejected our contract. It was because-¡± Dante Blinked behind him, corrupting his spear and stabbing him through the heart. It seemed that the man knew that he was with the guild, his movement probably gave him away. ¡°That was rather well done.¡± Dante stopped staring at the dead man¡¯s corpse and looked back to see Victoria. She scanned the battlefield, no hint of emotion on her face. In contrast, his emotions were in turmoil. Killing was beginning to get easier, but massacring the last few combatants so easily felt¡­ wrong? Dante picked up the strange metal whip that the man had dropped. It was etched with lines that looked similar to his gauntlet, clearly made by an artificer. He stored it. It wasn¡¯t something he could use, but he could always sell it later. Victoria moved to the wagons and began to uncover them. She looked pleasantly surprised. ¡°No wonder they sent so many combatants.¡± Dante ignored her momentarily and tended to the horses. He cut away the ones that were still tied to the wagons and dispersed the few that where still huddled behind the caravan. They all ran off, their chances of survival weren¡¯t good, but there was always the possibility that someone would find them. Then, he helped Victoria with the wagons. She was still working on the first one, now going through the containers. ¡°What is it?¡± Victoria sniffed one of the jars, as if confirming her suspicions. ¡°Algrite powder, and a lot of it. Quite literally worth its weight in gold.¡± He didn¡¯t appreciate the vague statement. It was as though she wanted him to ask. ¡°What does it do?¡± Victoria smiled mischievously, something she rarely did, then threw a handful at him. Covering him in the green powder, the stuff she said was worth its weight in gold. It quickly became apparent why she had identified it by the smell, it smelt like mold. Dante glared at her. ¡°Was that really necessary?¡± The smile didn¡¯t slip from her face. ¡°Try to gather world essence.¡± Dante¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°No.¡± He had been in this exact situation with Archie, and it had ended with a healer. Victoria shrugged. ¡°Pity.¡± Her reaction was surprising. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Victoria checked another wagon. ¡°If you want to know what it does, gather world essence.¡± He definitely wasn¡¯t going to do that. Putting his curiosity to the side, Dante systematically began to check the bodies of those he downed, mostly just taking their coins, and blood. He had become far pickier after looting so many caravans, and no longer just took everything. Victoria checked the rest of the wagons, three of them had algrite powder, one had alcohol, and the rest were full of food ¨C mostly grain. The amount of alcohol was surprising, as it was the first time they found any, and he quickly stored it before Victoria said anything. He also took the powder with him, but left the food. He already had a wagonload full of grain in his storage. He had tried to store other types of food, but he found out rather quickly that his storage didn¡¯t stop them from going bad. Looting done, he helped Victoria burn the wagons and they quickly left. It wouldn¡¯t take long for Warlord Karabell¡¯s troops to arrive when such a large caravan was burned this close to his stronghold. Chapter 83 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 83 Seeing Warlord Vidal¡¯s fighting force laid out in front of him, Dante couldn¡¯t help but be slightly disappointed. They were camped out where the vast plains of the wastelands met the forest that he and Victoria had been staying for the past two months. It seemed that Warlord Vidal¡¯s plan was to use that area as a battlefield, as he had camped his men roughly a mile away from the forest and concentrated them by the main road that ran through it. Naturally, his disappointment lay in the lack of accommodations. He had thought, that as the defending force, they would be locked up inside some comfortable fortress. After two months¡¯ isolation in what was practically a jungle it had sounded delightful, but that didn¡¯t seem to be the case. The other reason he was disappointed was the size of Warlord Vidal¡¯s force. As he and Victoria flew closer on the raptors, he tried to estimate the number and put it at around one hundred thousand. A solid fifty thousand in the main camp, and another fifty thousand spread thinly along the border of the forest for miles each way. He didn¡¯t know how he was supposed to affect a fight of this magnitude. Dante looked at Victoria, who was flying on the raptor ahead of him. Now that he got a better picture of the task at hand, he had hundreds of questions, but there was no way to communicate when they were flying so quickly. On the Brightside, he had 53 caravan invoices that were ready to be turned in. At a value of 1,500 world essence a piece, that added up to 79,500 world essence. The amount made his mouth salivate. As they neared the camp, Victoria seemed to throw caution to the wind. She sent them into a straight dive, only pulling up at the last minute to land. Inside the main camp. Unsurprisingly, they were met with drawn swords and nocked arrows. Over one hundred combatants immediately encircled them, and the number grew every passing second. One of the men, likely a captain judging by his air of authority, spoke up. ¡°Who are you?¡± His eyes shifted between them and the raptors they were sitting on, as though he was trying to discern which was the larger threat. Victoria didn¡¯t reply, she just flashed her guild ring as she hopped down from the raptor. It seemed to be enough, as all of those who were pointing their swords and arrows at them tensed up and put away their weapons. Dante followed her lead, jumping down from his oversized bird. Flying so high was unnerving, and he was happy to touch solid ground again. The captain that addressed them only moments ago walked forward and nervously saluted Victoria. ¡°My apologies, assassin. Things have been tense, and your sudden arrival was unanticipated.¡± The rest of the combatants took that moment to disperse, they almost looked like they were sneaking away. Victoria brushed it off with a wave of her hand. ¡°Forget it. Find someone to take care of our raptors, and send for Warlord Vidal. We need to solidify the terms of our contract now that things have changed.¡± One of Dante¡¯s eyebrows quirked ever so slightly. The terms of the contract had changed? The captain took an uncertain step forward. ¡°If it would please you, I could lead you to him immediately.¡± Victoria stared at him for several seconds, long enough to make the man sweat. ¡°That will do.¡± Dante had to stop himself from rolling his eyes, it was obvious that Victoria was deliberately toying with him. Now far more flustered, the captain jerked his head to the side. ¡°Samson! Get over here and take care of their raptors.¡± The captain paused. Then, almost as an afterthought. ¡°And don¡¯t shirk the duty off to one of your apprentices.¡± He turned back towards them with a strained smile. ¡°Please follow me.¡± Victoria seemed unperturbed as they followed the captain, but he found the entire encounter to be awkward. It seemed that he had drastically underestimated the notoriety of the assassins¡¯ guild in the wastelands. Melisandre had mentioned something about it, a disdainful comment about the guild branches in the wastelands not being much better than common mercenary groups. Apparently, it had something to do with the lack of people willing to pay for only one death. It was strange to him. In the nobles¡¯ territory, the assassins¡¯ guild worked in complete secrecy and were hardly mentioned in all of the years he spent in Alazel. They were still infamous, but when it came to guilds, they were just one of many. If Victoria had flashed her guild ring there, the chances that someone would recognize it were slim. Taking advantage of their walk through the camp, Dante began to pay attention to their surroundings. He would have done it when they were flying in, but by the time they were close enough to see details he was focused on the arrows pointed at him.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. The camp was surprisingly orderly, and obviously divided by the different mercenary groups. Each section of tents was neatly lined up and had colored flags next to them indicating the group they belonged to. Even the scattered latrines had the flags. He did think it was a bit gross that the latrines were inside of the camp, but they were a distance away from any of the tents, and probably useful if the camp was besieged. Surprisingly, being besieged was a possibility. The entire perimeter of the fifty-thousand-man camp was surrounded by a thick fifteen-foot-tall stone wall. And judging by the stone slabs that made up the wall, it was safe to say that Warlord Vidal had more than a few Geomancers. Other than that, the camp was rather plain. There were basic areas; cooking pits, training fields, and archery ranges among other things. He spent a majority of his focus on them. Mostly just watching the combatants practice. One thing did draw his eye though. An uncommon sight in the bustling crowd, yet one he saw a bit too frequently for comfort from the time they entered the camp. Several people were missing a hand, and not just any hand, the right one. Just above the wrist. Just the sight of it sent a shiver down his spine. The captain led them to a massive multiroomed tent, he seemed to hesitate, but then pulled aside the tent flap and led them in all the same. It was hard to get a feel for the monstrous size of the tent before stepping inside, but it was massive, easily the equivalent of a house built for two. Dante¡¯s eyes wandered over the vast cavern of canvas, wondering how much of a hassle it would be to set up. The materials themselves would be easy to store, but he couldn¡¯t decide if the luxury would be worth it if it took too long to organize. Inside of the tent were five men standing around a map, and a girl that was slightly older than him with a bored expression sitting off to the side. She was staring at him with interest, and not seeing the harm in it, he flashed her his cocky grin. The girl wasn¡¯t an outstanding beauty, she was slightly rugged, likely a combatant. A hypothesis that was reinforced by her somewhat harsh features, which were emphasized by her tan skin and her black hair that was slicked back into a tight ponytail. Still, as a combatant she was a cut above the women that were a part of the caravans he ambushed. His grin brought out a sly smile from the girl, which caught Victoria¡¯s attention. She looked back at him and cleared her throat, as if to tell him to knock it off. Her action had the added affect of alerting the five men to their presence. The four older ones looked at them like they were uninvited guests, but the middle-aged man¡¯s eyes lit up when he saw Victoria. ¡°Ah, welcome, welcome.¡± The man smiled magnificently as he turned to the four others. ¡°Please excuse us, I have been waiting for these particular friends for quite some time.¡± The middle-aged man was clearly Warlord Vidal. Like all warlords, he was a charismatic leader, keeping a careful balance as he ruled over those that could easily kill him if they decided he was no longer needed. He seemed to take a different route than Warlord Auron though. Warlord Auron projected might, like he was an unshakable force that you were better off siding with instead of offending. From a glance, Warlord Vidal was the complete opposite. He looked amiable and charming, with handsome features. His teeth were some of the whitest that Dante had ever seen, and he had dark black hair that brought a certain air of professionalism. There was something else though, an almost psychotic gleam in his eyes that was brought out as he smiled. He looked like the kind of man that would share a carefree laugh with someone as he shoved a knife into their heart. The captain that led them turned without a word, leaving with the four others that had been looking over the map, the only one who stayed was the female combatant. ¡°Victoria! It is great to see you again. You look even more resplendent than ever, I take it your time in Plieph Woodlands went well?¡± Apparently, that was the name of the forest that they had spent the last two months of their lives in. Victoria¡¯s expression stayed flat, as though the was trying to stare down Warlord Vidal. Warlord Vidal wasn¡¯t defeated as easily as the captain from earlier though. He turned his attention to Dante, placing both of his hands on Dante¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Ah, the young genius apprentice of Master Victoria! After hearing so much about your ability, I have eagerly awaited the day that the two of us would meet.¡± Dante glanced at Victoria, doubting the warlord¡¯s words. She wasn¡¯t the chatty type, and he doubted she would have given him a single word of praise if she was. He smiled sinisterly as an idea formed in his head. ¡°Likewise, Victoria often talks about you when the two of us are alone. Your smile is every bit as charming as she described. It¡¯s an honor to meet someone who managed to leave such an impression on my esteemed master.¡± He was feeling quite pleased with how he took advantage of the situation. Victoria had taken liberties with his bed, and there were consequences. The temperature in the tent seemed to plummet, and Warlord Vidal¡¯s hands involuntarily tightened on his shoulder, as if questioning his will to live. Despite the warlord¡¯s now strained smile, and Victoria¡¯s cold glance, the smile didn¡¯t slip from his face. Warlord Vidal was quick to recover, despite the goosebumps covering his arms. ¡°Surely you jest. I cannot compare to your benevolent master.¡± He seemed to stress the word benevolent. Victoria¡¯s glare intensified, and Dante quickly followed up. ¡°How could I possibly jest? I am pleased that your evaluation of my master is as high as her evaluation of you.¡± Victoria stared him down, then shifted her gaze to Warlord Vidal, who flinched. ¡°The terms of our contract have not been met. It¡¯s time to renegotiate.¡± Warlord Vidal¡¯s head quickly bobbed up and down. ¡°Of course, I would be happy to satisfy your terms, you only need mention them.¡± He turned to the girl. ¡°Addison, take-¡± Warlord Vidal was clearly reaching for a name. ¡°Master Victoria¡¯s apprentice to the Redwing unit. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll find it more than satisfactory according to the previous contract¡¯s terms.¡± He meekly glanced back at Victoria. ¡°And of course, we can still make adjustments if necessary.¡± The girl, Addison, silently walked to the tent¡¯s entrance and waited for him, but he didn¡¯t move without some indication from Victoria. She looked at him and slightly nodded. It was enough for him, and he happily left the tent. Something told him that the negotiations would go well. Chapter 84 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 84 Dante met Addison outside of the tent. He was just wondering what her relationship with the warlord was when she spoke. ¡°Must you tease my father like that? He is already stressed enough. If he loses the contract with your guild it would be a death sentence for him.¡± Dante studied her expression. Addison didn¡¯t seem angry, but she did look slightly resentful. She seemed to be hiding it though. He had a feeling that if he wasn¡¯t with the guild she wouldn¡¯t be as respectful. He smiled. ¡°My apologies. In all honesty, I was just trying to get back at my master for an earlier disagreement. Your father was just collateral damage. In the future I¡¯ll be more careful.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Addison returned his smile, and seemed to be mollified for the time being. The two of them walked to a makeshift table with piles of paper on it. A soldier was sitting behind it in a relaxed manor, but as soon as he saw Addison, he shot to his feet and saluted. Before the soldier could speak, Addison took the initiative. ¡°I need the report on the Redwing unit. You should have it, right?¡± The soldier quickly began to rifle through the stacks of paper on the table in front of him. ¡°I don¡¯t have the official write up, but I should have the registration file.¡± He pulled out a particular piece of paper with a look of satisfaction and handed it to them. Addison grabbed it. ¡°That will do.¡± Without even a second glance at the soldier, she walked off without another word. It left him in a somewhat awkward situation, as he had been left behind with the ignored soldier. Dante nodded to the soldier. ¡°Thank you.¡± Then he moved to catch up to Addison. Addison was reading through the paper, handing it to him when she was done. ¡°This is the information you¡¯ll need on the unit we assigned you.¡± Dante took the paper, it was filled with nineteen names, and next to them were the corresponding Classifications for that person. The handwriting in each line was different, so it seemed that the members of the Redwing unit had written their own information in. The first ten were Warriors. Three of them had second Classifications, but none of those second Classifications were combat Classifications. Thankfully, one of those three had a cooking Classification. That unexpected luxury was definitely convenient. There was a bracket added on to the page that encompassed all ten of the Warriors, and the handwriting was far more professional, likely something an officer wrote in after. Written next to the bracket was ¡®expendable, and easily replaced¡¯. After the Warriors came the far more interesting Classifications. Two Geomancers, one of which had a second Classification as a Mage. After those two, there was a Priest, something called a Pathfinder, and a regular Mage. There were also three standard Ranger Classifications, but they all had stars next to their names, so they likely had some special trait or skill. The last one of the list was somewhat strange. The Classification had three names, but two of them were crossed out. They were Star Slayer, Astral King, and Astral Slayer. He wasn¡¯t really sure what to think of the last, but he wasn¡¯t going to get his hopes up until he actually met the person. Dante looked up from the paper. ¡°What does it mean by ¡®expendable, and easily replaced¡¯?¡± He knew exactly what it meant, but wanted the official answer. Addison glanced at the paper. ¡°The Redwing unit is one of our most elite units, made up of some of our best combatants. Since we can¡¯t afford to lose them, we added ten Warriors that have decent defensive skills for padding. The nice thing about using Warriors for that purpose is that we have plenty of them.¡± That was understandable. As his fighting experience increased, he had come to understand how many Warriors picked defensive skills. It would be stupid to not make use of that. Addison stepped off the makeshift pathway and into an area of tents that had a red flag marking them. To the side of the tents was an open field and a small archery range. Both seemed to be for the exclusive use of the group staying there. ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± Dante¡¯s eyes scanned the area, it seemed pretty much standard. ¡°Redwing unit, line up!¡± Addison¡¯s shout was met by a chorus of muffled curses and the ruffling of clothes. Men streamed out of the tents, all of them in various stages of undress, and more than one of them seemed a bit tipsy. They did seem at least somewhat organized though, as they lined up side by side in front of Addison fairly quickly. Towards the end, a single woman walked out of her tent and lined up. He was fairly certain that she was the healer, Tabitha, as that was the only feminine name on his list. At a glance, he could see a clear divide between the Warriors and the rest of the unit, as they stood to the side and looked far less refined. Not only that, but they were all attentive, as if awaiting an order and ready to carry it out. The other group looked far more varied. Two looked scholarly, three looked somewhat rugged, and the rest looked completely ordinary. They looked somewhat bored though, as though they had better things they could be doing, and he received more than one look of disdain from those nine. Just looking at them gave him a headache. Addison glanced over at him and saw the frown on his face. She smirked. ¡°I¡¯ll leave them to you. Come find me if you need someone to show you around.¡± He was fairly certain that there was double meaning in her tone, something that was reaffirmed when he saw all of the men in his new unit nudging each other and smiling as they glanced between him and Addison. He didn¡¯t spare Addison another glance, she had likely just made his job even harder. Dante gave a faint smile. ¡°My name is Dante, and for the foreseeable future, I¡¯ll be the captain of the Redwing unit.¡± He did his best to seem mature, as he knew his young age would be a problem. He did so by restraining his enthusiasm as much as possible, while at the same time trying to give off a feeling of confidence. Despite his efforts, several members of the Redwing unit frowned when they heard his words. They looked at him like he was an idiot. On the bright side, that was only half of the ¡®elite¡¯ combatants. The others in that group didn¡¯t seem to care, and all of the Warriors looked at him with respect as soon as he said he was the captain. He already liked them. For the time being, he ignored the looks. ¡°I see that we are missing one person, who is it?¡± He looked at the Warriors, only nine of them were present. They all looked at each other, then one spoke up. ¡°Jacob got caught deserting, so he had his hand removed and is working the latrines.¡± Dante froze up for a fraction of a second, then glossed over it. Not only was Jacob the cook, but the question of why people had their hands removed had been answered. Despite all of the questions he had, he didn¡¯t ask about it. He didn¡¯t want to seem incompetent, and he could always ask Victoria later. His good mood now destroyed due to the loss of the cook, Dante continued. ¡°The enemies¡¯ main force should arrive in two days. Until then, I¡¯ll be getting a feel for everyone¡¯s skills and begin working on our coordination. I already have a list of everyone¡¯s Classifications, but I did have a few questions.¡±This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. As Dante looked down at his paper, he heard a disdainful snort from one of the elite combatants. Dante looked up, eyes narrowing. It was one of the scholarly looking combatants. Just looking at the man made him irritated. ¡°Aldric Prelich.¡± One of the ordinary looking men glanced up, attentive. ¡°Sir?¡± ¡°Your listed Classification is ¡®Pathfinder¡¯, could you give me a summary of it.¡± The man nodded. ¡°It¡¯s a scouting combat Classification. I only have one skill, it lets me clearly sense anything within the vicinity of the arrows I shoot with the skill. The range is a radius of 100 feet around the shot arrow, and the mana cost is rather low. I can keep five of them going at a time.¡± Dante nodded, that skill was actually incredibly useful, given the right application. He looked down at the piece of paper. The rest of his questions had to do with the combatants skills themselves and could be handled later as the other Classifications were self-explanatory, aside from one. ¡°Daniel Salway.¡± This time the irritating man who snorted at him looked up. ¡°What?¡± His voice was filled irritation, as though he couldn¡¯t believe that Dante would dare call upon him. Dante twitched, his desire to kill idiot in front of him was growing. ¡°Could you explain your Classification?¡± ¡°Can you not read?¡± He wished he would have asked Victoria or Addison about the punishment he was allowed to deal out, but he wouldn¡¯t have thought it would be necessary. ¡°Ah, yes. Astral Star King Slayer, my apologies.¡± That earned a few smirks from several of the other combatants, and Daniel looked infuriated. Dante ignored him. ¡°Does anyone know what this idiot¡¯s Classification is?¡± The healer, Tabitha, spoke up. ¡°He¡¯s just a Mage. Has a rare skill though.¡± Daniel glared at her, then crossed his arms over his chest. ¡°The only thing a Classification determines is the skill that a combatant can have and the attributes they can earn. By that logic, how could I, with such a rare skill, be a common Mage?¡± If he wasn¡¯t so aggravating, he may have thought Daniel had a point. As it was, Daniel¡¯s skill had better be a good one to warrant this level of irritation. He couldn¡¯t fathom how anyone could be so disrespectful to a commanding officer. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s basically all I wanted to do today. Meet here at sunrise tomorrow, we will go over everyone¡¯s skills then. Any questions before I go?¡± Daniel didn¡¯t miss a beat. ¡°Why are you the new captain of our unit?¡± Dante ignored the question as he looked at Tabitha, she had seemed helpful so far. ¡°Who was the leader before I arrived.¡± Tabitha jabbed a finger at Daniel. ¡°He was.¡± That confirmed his suspicions. Dante looked at them. ¡°Did no one tell you I was coming to take command of the unit?¡± Several people shook their heads in answer. Daniel¡¯s reaction made a bit more sense, something still had to be done about him though. ¡°I apologize. I had thought that you all knew I was coming.¡± Dante pulled the guild ring out of his storage and slipped it on. He didn¡¯t make it a habit of wearing it, as it made the gauntlet uncomfortable to wear. ¡°I am the new captain of the Redwing unit because Warlord Vidal signed a contract with my guild.¡± Daniel¡¯s complexion paled and the other members of the unit looked at him in shock, which was one of the most satisfying things he had ever seen. Dante glanced down at the ring, he may need to wear it more often in the wastelands. The guild¡¯s notoriety was ridiculous. The members of the Redwing unit also seemed to be completely taken aback by his skill. He didn¡¯t bother hiding his abilities, Victoria had already told him that he didn¡¯t need to. Dante stared Daniel down. ¡°Were there any other questions?¡± No one said anything. Dante smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll see you here tomorrow morning then, don¡¯t be late.¡± Dante left the area. That had both gone better and worse than he had thought it would. He should have started with the guild ring on. The rest of his day was spent acquiring a tent and the other accommodations he needed. Unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t able to get one as large as the warlord¡¯s, but he did get one large enough for his bed. He had it set up in the Redwing area, mainly to get away from Victoria. She was still forcing him to eat those stupid pills. It wasn¡¯t as bad as before, but being awake two or three days at a time wasn¡¯t a schedule he could maintain. And he was just about to retire for the night when Victoria magically appeared. It was as though she knew that he was about to sleep and had to stop him. Victoria stepped into his tent. ¡°How did things go?¡± Dante looked up, Victoria¡¯s regular expression was back. It was like she was always in a state of wry amusement, which was the complete opposite of how she had acted when they entered the camp. When she entered the camp earlier, she had acted like she had when they had first met, flat and expressionless. That was likely her default expression when in public. ¡°It went okay, I think. I had a bit of an issue with one of the combatants. He was a complete moron.¡± One of her eyebrows quirked. ¡°How did you handle it?¡± Dante shrugged. ¡°I pulled out my guild ring and he shut up. I¡¯m still somewhat surprised by how much the guild is respected in the Wastelands.¡± Victoria walked up to Shade, who was sitting on his bed. ¡°Respected? Your slightly mistaken. The guild is the most solid force in the Wastelands, and the most powerful. Guild members are treated well because they are feared, not respected.¡± Dante watched Shade voluntarily get closer to Victoria and he frowned. ¡°Fear and respect are basically the same thing. By the way, how did the contract change?¡± ¡°We were supposed to fight in a siege. This is going to be far more dangerous. I did have your unit moved though. You¡¯ll be fighting somewhat far away from the camp initially, taking part in skirmishes until you get a feel for what a large scale battle can be like.¡± Knowing that they were supposed to take part in a siege left him feeling a bit disgruntled. It meant that he should be inside of a nice stone building instead of some flimsy tent. ¡°That¡¯s fine, I suppose. I take it negotiations went well? Why was Warlord Vidal so afraid of you?¡± Victoria seemed to find his words amusing. ¡°He isn¡¯t afraid of me, or at least not that afraid of me. I flew directly into the camp and revealed that we were in the guild to put pressure on him. Having an open contract with the guild would drastically increase the moral of his troops, losing that contract however¡­ Let¡¯s just say his desertion problem would get far worse.¡± He could see how that might be an issue for the warlord. ¡°I thought that desertion wasn¡¯t a big deal in the Wastelands. Even when the fighting gets intense Melisandre said it was only frowned upon. Doesn¡¯t the punishment seem a bit much?¡± Victoria shrugged. ¡°Usually it¡¯s not much of an issue. It¡¯s different in this case. Over 40% of Warlord Vidal¡¯s army is conscripted. He¡¯s already running the risk of rebellion, which is why our presence is so important.¡± That answered quite a few questions. Still, cutting off hands seemed a bit overkill. That was the equivalent of permanently wraith collaring someone and physically disabling them at the same time. Victoria stood. ¡°I just came to check up on you. I¡¯ll see you tomorrow.¡± Just as she reached the tent flap, she turned around. ¡°By the way, the essence crystals are being shipped in. We performed well over Warlord Vidal¡¯s expectations and his current stock was too low. It should be here in a few days.¡± Dante watched Victoria leave, shocked. He had been almost certain that they were going to start some sort of late-night training session. For the first time in months, he would have enough free time to do some testing. Dante pulled a jar out of his storage. It was one of the enchanted alchemy jars that Victoria had given him, quite large too. Large enough for him to fit his entire fist in, which was important. Dante opened the jar, it was filled with blood. His blood. He had been collecting it over the past two months. Almost every time Victoria went scouting he would hunt down a creature that would activate his passive. Once found, he would slice open the veins in his wrist and drain blood from his body until he was seconds away from passing out. Thankfully, now that his passive regenerated instead of healed it no longer left scars. Dante¡¯s gloved hand hovered over the jar as he mentally prepared himself. He would have used the blood earlier, but was worried that there would be negative effects. Despite having drops of his own blood absorbed by the glove accidentally in the past, he had never submerged it before, so he wasn¡¯t sure what to expect. In all likelihood, nothing out of the ordinary would happen. So far, he and Victoria had a silent agreement not to talk about the glove. He knew that she saw him absorb blood. And the changing color of his world essence was far too noticeable, it was now almost purple. Dante submerged his hand into the jar. Some of it spilled out over the top as his hand displaced the liquid, but in only a few seconds he could see the blood in the jar begin to recede. The glove was absorbing it, and he could feel a familiar sensation building in his hand. Heat. Like when the glove had attached itself to him, it began to feel like it was shoved into hot coals. Dante pulled a pair of leather pants out of his storage and bit down them, hard. It stopped the screams that threatened to escape his mouth. In only a few seconds, the blood was gone. Dante pulled his hand out of the jar and examined it. All four of his Classification symbols appeared on it, which was good, but the burning didn¡¯t stop. It was strange though. The last time it happened, his entire hand burned. This time it was different, only the Classification symbols were burning, it almost felt as though he was being branded. He didn¡¯t know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, but that also held true for the glove in general. There was another potential problem though. As he examined the glove, he realized that he was beginning to run out of space. Despite being incredibly small, the spacing between the symbols was constant. It looked as though he could have five or six more Classification symbols before issues would arise. Dante laid back on his bed as Shade curled up to his side, as if to comfort him. He sat back in comfort as he tried to endure the sensations that were coming from his hand. Chapter 85 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 85 Dante sat against the wall of the trench, flexing the muscles in his right hand to distract himself from the pain. Three days. The pain had lessened after the initial hour, but a searing sensation hadn¡¯t gone away. Three days of unbearable pain. ¡°Not only are we sitting ducks, but I also won¡¯t be able to get a good shot off in this blasted dirt pit.¡± Dante looked at Daniel, imagining his flexing hand around the man¡¯s throat. The pain was definitely affecting his temper, and he was pretty sure he would kill the bastard if he got the chance. Dante Blinked the leather that was clenched between his teeth down into his pocket, it was amazing how much biting something helped the pain. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to fight from the trench, feel free to lead the charge yourself.¡± Done speaking, he stuck his hand in his pocket and Blinked the piece of leather back into his mouth, repositioning it between his teeth before he clamped down. Daniel didn¡¯t seem satisfied with his answer. ¡°What¡¯s the point of having Warriors if we aren¡¯t even going to use them? I am far more valuable than those common brutes.¡± Dante didn¡¯t answer Daniel, the Warriors were all standing with shields at the ready, waiting to block any projectiles that might fall into the trench, or attack anyone who charged in. Daniel¡¯s great battle plan was to send them at the enemy as the rest of the unit rained shots in from behind. Absolutely stupid when he could sit in the comfort of a trench and not lose anyone. Daniel looked as though he was going to say something, but a single glance from Victoria shut him up. Victoria¡¯s sat off to the side, picking at her nails with a dagger. She didn¡¯t seem to care about the upcoming fight. She wouldn¡¯t even be taking part unless it was necessary. A war horn sounded behind them, indicating that the enemy was marching forward. The three rangers strung their bows in anticipation, and even Daniel activated his skill, a glowing bow made of light appearing in his hand. Daniel¡¯s skill was called ¡®Astral Arrow¡¯, apparently. He would only believe that if he saw the skill description for himself though. In all honesty, the skill seemed both mediocre and amazing. It was basically just a bow. That was it. The only advantage it had over a regular bow was slightly increased range, unlimited arrows, and ridiculous firing speed. Other than that, it was standard. Even the power it shot with wasn¡¯t above average. Any regular combatant should be able to block the arrows, unless they were overwhelmed by the quantity that Daniel fired. In his opinion, the three Rangers had far better skills. One of them was a sharpshooter, able to attack with incredible speed, power, and accuracy at an incomprehensible range. Another had an incredibly rare skill that shattered mana on contact, perfect for destroying any mana shields. It wouldn¡¯t work on an overly powerful shield though. And the last had a skill that poisoned his arrow before it was fired. That skill was by far the most ridiculous, one nick from the arrow would turn someone into a withered black corpse in less than a minute. Other than them, he had a Geomancer ready to use Barricade for defensive purposes, and the other Geomancer and the Mage were creating a mana shield that was also ready to be used. Aldric, the Pathfinder, was sitting right next to him. He had wracked his brain for two days, thinking about how Aldric¡¯s skill could be used to the greatest effect, and he was pretty sure he had figured it out. Aldric was sitting in front of a diagram that represented the field in front of them. The diagram had the trenches location, a line indicating where the forest began, and most importantly, a line between the two indicating the reach of his Manipulate Blade skill. Aldric already had five arrows out to sense the enemy, and after some previous testing, he knew that he could hit a moving target quite accurately without even peaking out from the trench. Shouting could be heard both to their left and right as the other groups prepared themselves. Most of them didn¡¯t use trenches, but just a simple wall from a Barricade skill, some of them at half height so that they could be peaked over. Geomancer¡¯s were running up and down their side¡¯s frontline, placing up walls for each unit, their skill in high demand. Dante heard the twang of the bow, and he glanced over to see that the sharpshooter Ranger had already begun to pick shots. It seemed that things were already picking up. They were several miles from the main camp, and their force was more of a visual deterrent than anything else. There wasn¡¯t a single mercenary group among them, just ragtag units made up of conscripted combatants with one of the Warlords men leading them. If they were hit by the opposing warlord¡¯s main force, and not just a small raiding party, they would be wiped out within minutes. An explosion sounded out a few dozen feet from the trench and he could feel the ground tremble lightly. Daniel peaked out from the trench with the other two Rangers, it seemed that the enemy was closing in. Aldric pointed to the diagram in front of him, his finger resting between the line of the forest and the line that marked Manipulate Blade¡¯s range. The finger lightly traced closer towards the line of his skill¡¯s range when it abruptly stopped. Aldric then moved his finger to a new position and began tracing it, indicating that the previous target had been killed. He had instructed Aldric to track the closest target at all times unless instructed otherwise, which could be problematic since the closest enemy would always be targeted and attacked first by others. The shouting around him picked up. Some were screams of people dying, others were orders to kill specific enemies. It was deafening. Aldric¡¯s finger traced closer to his skill¡¯s range, and Dante picked up a sword from the pre-prepared pile with a mere thought, ready to act. ¡°Not yet.¡± Dante glanced at Victoria in askance. Victoria didn¡¯t stop picking at her nails. ¡°This is just a probing attack. The enemy commander is looking for the biggest threats so that he can quickly take them out, while simultaneously draining our sides mana.¡± Dante pointed to Daniel and the three Rangers, not bothering to take the leather out of his mouth to speak. Daniel was practically shooting bolts of light at the enemy. Victoria¡¯s gaze shifted to the archers. ¡°Yes, that is a bit of a problem. This trench will likely be targeted by the first wave. It doesn¡¯t really matter though, this entire battle is a probing one. There will only be a few casualties on both sides.¡± Judging by the screams coming from both sides of the field, he had a feeling that ¡®a few casualties¡¯ was a relative term. Dante glanced at Tabitha, their healer. She didn¡¯t seem to be too concerned about the people with arrows sticking out of them only a few feet away from their trench. In fact, she was casually knitting. He didn¡¯t say anything though. Over the past few days he had come to understand how headstrong - and strange - the small woman was. He just hoped that she would be a bit more concerned if it was him bleeding out in front of her. Dante casually listened to the sounds of battle for a few minutes. Victoria seemed to be correct, like always, the enemy wasn¡¯t really attacking them yet. True, there were archers raining arrows at them, and a few Warrior¡¯s had crossed into their lines, but they were being easily repelled.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Aldric abruptly shifted the position of his finger until it was a bit outside of his skill¡¯s range. ¡°A group of six is targeting us. Two mages holding a mana shield, a mage and three archers taking aim.¡± That wasn¡¯t good. Dante spit out the piece of leather and looked over to the Rangers. ¡°Thomas, take out that groups mana shield.¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± Thomas nocked an arrow, and the tip glowed blue just as he fired. Aldric followed the group with his finger as it slowly marched closer. ¡°Shield¡¯s down, but they are firing.¡± Aldric had just finished speaking when three arrows collided into the back of their trench, one of which immediately blasted apart with a burst of mana. Thankfully it blew up the soft dirt of the trench wall, making the blast¡¯s damage minimal. ¡°Barricade!¡± The stone wall barely made it up in time to block the ball of fire that crashed into it. It exploded with devastating force, blasting shards of stone into the trench. Dante cursed. The mage had a powerful upgrade on his fireball skill, if he had been a second late on the call for Barricade, things would have ended badly. ¡°Focus on the mage, and clear the stone off the Rangers!¡± The last command was for the Warriors, and they immediately followed through. Dante looked at Daniel and the three Rangers, they were covered in the stone shards from the Barricade wall. ¡°Tabitha, make sure our archers can still fight. Lucas, if you don¡¯t cover us with the mana shield next time, I¡¯ll kill you before the enemy gets around to it. Jackson, start expanding the trench, we need to move.¡± Dante looked down at his Pathfinder. ¡°Aldric, aim for the mage.¡± As he spoke, Dante lifted up five weapons with his skill. He tracked the enemies¡¯ movements with the help of Aldric and he fired. ¡°Left.¡± At Aldric¡¯s command, he turned the blades slightly to the left as they flew through the air and escaped his skills range. He awaited confirmation. ¡°Mage and one archer dead, another mage wounded. They are forming another shield but it¡¯s currently weak. Their group is also taking fire from others on our side.¡± Dante scanned the trench to see what he was dealing with. The sharpshooter had a very crushed arm, and Tabitha was healing Daniel¡¯s wrist. Jackson had already extended the trench to the point that it was twice its previous length, and the Warrior¡¯s were preparing to defend the trench now that the enemy was getting closer. His hand was also still flaring up in pain, making the situation far worse. ¡°Captain.¡± Dante looked over at Aldric, who now had two fingers on the diagram, both of them somewhat close to each other. ¡°Two more grouped units just entered the field and are heading our way. Both using shield walls.¡± Dante processed the information. A shield wall was definitely the most effective defense against their group, which was made up almost entirely of archers. And the Ranger with the mana destroying arrows was no longer useful. He wondered if the person commanding the enemy forces was already adapting to their skills, the lack of mana shields could testify to that theory. ¡°Warriors, prepare for close combat, prioritize defense! Jackson, as soon as the trench is extended get the Rangers out of here.¡± They were definitely being watched, but if the trench was extended far enough, the enemy might not target them as the fled. Dante stood up, peaking out of the trench to get a feel for the battlefield. The two groups that Aldric mentioned were closing in, their shields large enough to almost entirely cover their bodies. Both seemed to be made up of ten Warriors each. Strangely, those two shield walls were the only part of the enemy force that was grouped together. The rest of their combatants were scattered, prioritizing defense over offense. They charged over, doing their best to block projectiles, but none of them got close. Any time they did, they would stop and look for cover before engaging his side. That didn¡¯t mean that their number wasn¡¯t overwhelming though. They had sent out at least two hundred and fifty combatants so far, while his side was made up of less than four hundred. At least fifty of the enemy side were archers as well, they were returning fire, shooting arrows charged with various skills back at his side, but the damage was minimal. From what he could see, Victoria was right about this being a probing battle. And it was obvious. It made him hold back. He had been planning on charging the shield wall, Blinking behind it would have allowed him to decimate them through the element of surprise, but that no longer seemed like a good idea. He didn¡¯t want to reveal all of his skills to the enemy, it could cost him later. ¡°Lucas, wall up!¡± At his command, a mana shield rose up in front of him. It was dense, the product of almost an hour of preparation beforehand. ¡°Aldric, do they have any offensive combatants behind the wall?¡± Aldric frowned as he extended his senses. ¡°No, it seems to only be made up of Warriors.¡± Dante spun on his heels. ¡°Jackson, stop extending the trench. Just widen it.¡± Jackson didn¡¯t look too pleased to receive the contradictory order, but he carried it out anyways. He was likely already low on mana. Unfortunately, the other Geomancer didn¡¯t have the Excavate skill. The enemy hadn¡¯t stayed idle. Their archers were raining arrows on either side of the trench, forcing away the rest of the combatants on their side in an attempt to isolate his unit. It was a good plan. Dante picked up the swords and spears behind him one by one, hurling them at the feet of the shield wall on the right with Manipulate Blade. He sliced into the feet of a Warrior with the first, but after that the shields were lowered and the Warriors crouched behind them. To the sides of the shield wall other Warriors that weren¡¯t a part of the group marched in by themselves. They were also holding shields, but their aim was clearly to distract the rest of his side from interfering with the shield wall¡¯s progress. As he slowed down the group on the right, continuing to shoot weapons at them, the shield wall on the left marched forward unimpeded. They were closing in far faster than the other group, and didn¡¯t seem to care that they were marching forward alone. Dante sat behind his group of Warriors, they were now forming ranks in anticipation of the fight. ¡°Prioritize defense!¡± He looked at the other Geomancer. ¡°As soon as they get close enough, put up a few walls behind them.¡± The man looked at him as though he was insane, but nodded. Daniel and the other Rangers stood to his side, all but the one with the crushed arm were lobbing shots over the mana wall in front of them. Tabitha and Aldric had taken refuge by Victoria, which was the safest area on the battlefield by far. The first shield wall met their mana shield, bashing it at a full charge and weakening it. Behind them a few stone walls went up, indicating that their Geomancer had done as instructed. ¡°Thomas, break the shield!¡± Thomas also looked at him like he was insane, but did as instructed. He charged an arrow, shooting it into the shield that was directly in front of them. The mana shield shattered, causing a few of the enemy Warriors to stumble forward into the trench. They quickly regained their footing and began to fight with his Warriors in close combat, but those that fell into the trench were quickly eliminated. To his side, Daniel had already begun to pepper arrows at the ones that had yet to jump down, impeding their movement. ¡°Step forward!¡± At his command, the Warriors in his unit immediately obeyed. They stepped forward, over the bodies of the enemy they had just downed to engage what remained of the shield wall that was standing above them. Dante pressed himself against their backs, waiting a few seconds for them to fully engage the enemy, then he Blinked. He appeared behind the shield wall, fully blocked from enemy view thanks to the stone wall his Geomancer had thrown up only moments ago. As soon as he appeared behind the Warriors he tore through them easily. All of them were too preoccupied with his own combatants to react in time. ¡°Pull them into the trench.¡± The Warriors looked shocked, they had never seen him use Blink before, but they also looked at him with a newfound respect as they pulled the corpses of the Warriors into the trench. As soon as all the bodies were hidden, Dante looked at the Geomancer. ¡°Take down the walls, but get ready to put them back up.¡± The stone walls came down just as the other shield wall neared. The Geomancer had already gotten the gist of the plan, as he put the wall back up without being asked. ¡°Prepare to engage, focus on defense!¡± Their moral now high, the Warriors on his side stepped up to meet the enemy. The low ground was a definite disadvantage in a fight, but in this case, the effects were minimal. Not only were his Warriors only focused on defense, but Daniel and the two Rangers fired arrows into any gaps they saw in the shield wall. As soon as the enemy was thoroughly engaged, Dante stepped forward and Blinked behind the enemy. Dispatching all ten in seconds with a swipe from a world essence manipulated blade. Dante began kicking the bodies at his Warriors. ¡°Pull them in.¡± They did as instructed, clearing the field in front of them so that no evidence of their enemy remained. ¡°Lower the stone walls.¡± At his command, the Geomancer did as instructed. The stone walls came down, revealing nothing where a fight should have been taking place. From the opposing side, a horn blared, indicating a retreat. The enemy force began to pull back and cries of victory rose up from their side of the field. The men in his unit weren¡¯t an exception, the Warriors celebrated heartily, slapping each other on the back with wide smiles on their face. Even the Ranger that had his arm crushed seemed to be happy. Dante sat against the trench wall, the pain in his hand was unimaginable. Killing the enemy might have been easy, but every drop of blood that fell on his glove was a nightmarish torture. Now that his battle high was fading, the pain only seemed to increase. Victoria looked him over, she seemed a bit apprehensive when she saw the obvious pain he was in, but skimmed over it. ¡°Well done, captain. You handled the battle well, keeping a few cards hidden was smart in this situation. Although, I think that hiding the bodies afterward was a bit theatrical.¡± Dante didn¡¯t respond, the pain was overwhelming. Chapter 86 Despite the apologetic look on Addison¡¯s face, Dante didn¡¯t budge. He continued to stare her down. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you.¡± His voice had come out harsher than intended, something that was apparent when Addison flinched. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. We didn¡¯t recruit any trivial Classifications, only those that also had a combat Classification were taken.¡± Dante looked at the vast number of people who were streaming around them, they were moving around the camp, carrying out their specific tasks. ¡°You¡¯re telling me, that in this entire army, the only person with a Classification that aids in cooking was a Warrior that was initially in my unit?¡± The Warrior they crippled. Addison averted her gaze, a trace of guilt could be seen in her eyes. ¡°There are two others, but they are currently being held and awaiting punishment.¡± Dante forcibly restrained his temper, something that was becoming increasingly difficult as the days went on. ¡°For what?¡± Addison glanced at Victoria, looking for help, but Victoria just looked like she was bored. ¡°They were caught deserting.¡± His bloodshot eyes narrowed. After the fighting started, almost a hundred people tried to run away at the same time, but all of them had been caught. ¡°Bring the one with the highest level in his Classification to me. That person will be joining my unit.¡± Addison hesitated. ¡°But-¡± ¡°Go.¡± Hearing the tone of his voice, Addison paled, then nodded and quickly left. Now that Addison had left, Victoria¡¯s expression changed, a hint of worry could be seen in her features. Her eyes drifted to his glove. ¡°We need to find a way to resolve this issue.¡± Dante gave her an accusatory look. ¡°Finally going to help?¡± Victoria¡¯s mouth opened so she could speak, then closed. She seemed reluctant to broach the subject. ¡°I¡¯m trying not to get myself killed.¡± Dante looked at his glove. He had counted the number of symbols on it an innumerable amount of times in the past few days. It now had a total of 48 Classification symbols on it, and had room for two more. He had been doing his best to hunt down new symbols during the looting after the battles, hoping that it would end his torment. It was becoming increasingly hard to find new ones though, he only had around twenty before fighting the caravans, but now that there were 48, unique Classifications were becoming less common. ¡°Don¡¯t bother then.¡± He wasn¡¯t an idiot, he had already made his deductions about Victoria¡¯s background after spending so much time with Melisandre. Even by the most reserved estimates, she was far stronger than anyone he had ever met. The more she had ignored the glove, the more apprehensive he had become about its origins. He had revisited the memory of the old woman that had given it to him multiple times, but he had been unable to glean any additional information from it. Victoria visibly hesitated. ¡°I can help you. If you have any ideas just tell me what you need. But try to tell me as little as possible.¡± Victoria¡¯s willingness to take a risk for him was moving. If she did help him, things would undoubtedly speed up. He wasn¡¯t sure if he should utilize her abilities though, especially if she thought that the situation was risky. Victoria likely had a much clearer picture of the situation than he did. Victoria saw the contemplation on his face and rolled her eyes. ¡°Stop overthinking things.¡± That was easy to do when his focus was being destroyed by the pain flaring in his hand. ¡°I need blood. From two different combat Classifications that I haven¡¯t fought before, and I need enough to submerge my hand in each.¡± Victoria nodded and walked away without another word, disappearing into the crowded camp. Dante stepped into his tent and laid on his bed, relaxing with his eyes closed. Shade curled up to him. The fox¡¯s emotions were linked closer to his than he had anticipated. She had been so agitated recently that even Victoria wasn¡¯t welcome near her. The only person she didn¡¯t hiss at was him. His unit had returned from the frontline several days ago, and had only managed to fight in three skirmishes. In his state, fighting in such chaotic battles just wasn¡¯t safe. Fortunately, the main camp hadn¡¯t been mobilized yet, so he was still allowed some modicum of comfort. Both warlords were holding back their main forces, and Warlord Vidal was basically just sacrificing the weak combatants that he had conscripted. It was hard to blame those conscripted combatants for trying to flee, and it made the punishment they received even more abhorrent. ¡°Dante?¡± Dante¡¯s eyes snapped open when he heard Addison¡¯s voice. As he stepped out of the tent, he saw that she had two people with her. Both of them were covered in shackles. One was young, maybe a year or two older than him and devilishly handsome. As soon as they made eye contact, the cook smiled charismatically. Then the cook¡¯s eyes began to drift as he scanned the vicinity, resting on something of interest momentarily before losing interest and finding something else to examine. The other person with Addison was much older. Likely forty if he hadn¡¯t specialized, older if he had. His eyes were red, as though he had been crying, and the way he looked at Dante was full of pleading. Their appearances couldn¡¯t have been in greater contrast. After examining them, his eyes drifted to Addison. He tried to reign in his temper, his actions when dealing with her earlier had been a bit much. Not only was he pissed off in general because of his glove, but he also hadn¡¯t been paid yet for the two months he spent in the forest. That was something that angered him greatly. What made it worse, was that Warlord Vidal pushed the responsibility of mollifying him off to Addison. Thus far, she had been failing miserably. ¡°I thought I asked you to bring one of them?¡± The younger one had a strange glint in his eyes as he smiled. ¡°She¡¯s completely biased.¡± Addison glared at him before looking at Dante. ¡°I know.¡± She jabbed a finger in the younger cook¡¯s direction. ¡°His cooking Classification is of a higher level, but he¡¯s much harder to deal with and doesn¡¯t have a combat Classification. Also, he is facing public torture and execution, not just crippling. I think that this one would be a better fit for your unit.¡± A small amount of hope entered the eyes of the older cook when Addison pointed to him. Dante looked at the younger cook, the cook seemed to be completely confident. He wondered what one had to do to earn public torture and execution. Probably not much given the way other punishments were doled out. ¡°How is he harder to deal with if he doesn¡¯t have a combat Classification?¡± Addison caught the younger cook¡¯s wrist and twisted it so the two symbols were facing him, but there was no struggle on the cook¡¯s part. ¡°Strategist. He¡¯s the bastard that led so many to desert.¡± His interest was now piqued. A Strategist would be incredibly useful. Dante addressed the younger cook. ¡°How does someone with a Strategist Classification get caught trying to run?¡± The wide smile didn¡¯t slip from the cook¡¯s face, and his eyes stopped drifting around to momentarily make contact with Dante¡¯s. ¡°A stroke of misfortune. Some idiot in a scouting party fell from his horse and broke an arm. That group returned to the camp earlier than they should have, and coincidentally, just as I was making my escape.¡± Addison glared at the cook. ¡°That wasn¡¯t all that he accomplished.¡± She looked back at Dante. ¡°Why don¡¯t you go ahead and ask him why there has been such a big delay on your payment.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. The cook looked aggrieved. ¡°Dearest Addison, I have already apologized for my transgressions. How could you be so cruel as to bring up past grudges?¡± Dante examined the cook, he was amusing at the very least. ¡°What is she talking about?¡± The cook waved a hand dismissively, causing the shackles around his wrists to clink. ¡°A misunderstanding, I can assure you. Addison has just wrongly accused me of stealing your essence crystals, when in fact, I stole the warlord¡¯s.¡± Dante felt his right hand involuntarily twitch with a desire to vent his anger. That explained why he had yet to be paid. The young cook¡¯s eyes drifted down to his glove, attracted by the sudden movement there. He studied it, as though he had found something of interest, then looked back up. ¡°My dear brother, I can assure you that this will work out for the best. Not only have I already acquired a vast amount of essence crystals for us, but you have yet to be paid. The warlord wouldn¡¯t dare renege on your contract, I¡¯ve practically doubled our payment.¡± Dante took note of the words ¡®dear brother¡¯, ¡®us¡¯, and ¡®our¡¯. Melisandre had told him to speak similarly when he was trying to win someone over to his side, and it seemed that this cook was using such a method. If he chose to keep him, the cook would undoubtedly be trouble, but not necessarily in a bad way. ¡°Name?¡± Despite already smiling, the corners of the cook¡¯s lips curled, as though he had already been set free. ¡°Jayden.¡± Dante looked at Addison. ¡°You can unshackle him, he¡¯ll be joining the Redwing unit.¡± Addison didn¡¯t look too happy. Setting a prisoner free was well within the power that his influence brought him as a member of the guild, but this prisoner¡¯s crime was far too extreme. ¡°It would be impossible for me to just let him go, especially without some compensation for the damages he caused.¡± Dante looked between Jayden and the older and paler cook as he mulled it over. Jayden was obviously far more capable, but that might not necessarily offset all of the trouble of acquiring him. ¡°I am willing to discipline him appropriately, but I won¡¯t be able to compensate the losses he caused.¡± Addison looked like she was stuck between a rock and a hard place. It was obvious she had no intention of willingly giving her prisoner up, but at the same time, she was dealing with someone she couldn¡¯t risk offending. ¡°Meaning¡­?¡± Dante shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but it will be unpleasant.¡± Addison looked at Jayden for several seconds, a very unsightly expression on her face. ¡°Fine. What did you want me to do with him?¡± The older cook put both of his hands together in a subservient manner and his face turned a shade paler. ¡°Please¡­¡± Dante didn¡¯t bother with the man, he had no need of an extra cook, and there was no point in saving a single person when they would be a burden. ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡± He proceeded to ignore the cook¡¯s pleading as Addison began unshackling Jayden. Then watched as she led the struggling cook away. ¡°I¡¯m guessing that you already used all of the essence crystals you stole?¡± Jayden retracted his tongue, which he had stuck out at Addison and the other cook as soon as they turned away from him. ¡°Of course, dear brother. If I hadn¡¯t, they would have stolen our essence crystals when I was captured.¡± Even though he had been a bit agitated that he hadn¡¯t gotten his essence crystals yet, his mood was now greatly improved. He had been operating under the assumption that the warlord was just stalling without the intention to pay, at least until the war was over. It was nice to know that wasn¡¯t the case. He couldn¡¯t really bring himself to care that Jayden had stolen from the warlord. ¡°Why did you try to escape with so many people, wouldn¡¯t that increase your chances of being caught?¡± Jayden was busy massaging his wrist, which had been rubbed raw by the shackles. ¡°Dear brother, you are mistaken. I didn¡¯t lead those rebels, I merely gave them a few ideas to aid them. It was a mere coincidence that my escape and theirs coaligned.¡± So basically, he used them as a distraction. Dante escorted Jayden to the Warriors in his unit. Since they currently weren¡¯t fighting, the combatants that made up the Redwing unit were all spending their free time in leisure. He did drill them occasionally, but otherwise they were free to do as they wished. After making sure Jayden was watched, and physically abused by the Warriors as punishment, he went back to his tent and sat back down on his bed. Sleep was almost impossible due to the pain from his glove, unless he was exhausted. Well, he was exhausted, just not exhausted enough. A feeling of success washed over him though, he finally had a cook. Edible food would be a welcome change. Even in Alazel he ate better than he had in recent days, and that said something. After the camp lost access to the forest, they had to rely on their stored supplies, which meant grain. They only made one thing, an abhorrent creation that the combatants called ¡®cracker¡¯. It was basically horrible flat bread that was baked twice. Apparently, it prevented mold, but mold might have increased the flavor. It was a culinary achievement, they had somehow managed to create something that was both tasteless and absolutely disgusting. Before tasting it, he wouldn¡¯t have thought such a contradiction was possible.
It was only a short time later when Victoria stepped into his tent. Her expression was solemn as she pulled the tent flap aside and stepped through. In her hands were two alchemic jars, both of them filled with blood. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have run into anyone with these Classifications.¡± Dante gratefully accepted the jars, not bothering to ask where the blood came from. It didn¡¯t really matter. Relief was hopefully imminent. ¡°Thank you.¡± Victoria hesitated, then nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll wait outside in case something goes wrong.¡± As soon as she stepped out of the tent, Dante opened up the jars of blood. He stared at his glove for a moment, grimacing in anticipation of the pain. After he soaked the glove in his own blood, any contact with other blood caused a flare up of intense pain. From what he could tell, it was dependent on the quantity, every time he would submerge his hand the flare up would last at least an hour. Dante closed his eyes and sunk his hand in the first jar. The expected flare up seemed to attack every nerve that was under the glove. During the first few days after absorbing his own blood, he thought that he would eventually adapt to the pain, get used to it so that it was just in the background. If anything, the opposite was true. When the jar was empty, he pulled out his hand. A new symbol appeared, now bringing the total to 49. He moved to the second jar, excited, yet hesitant. If this didn¡¯t stop the searing sensation, he wasn¡¯t sure how much longer he would last. Dante submerged his glove. The amount of pain didn¡¯t change after the first jar, and as soon as it was done absorbing the blood he pulled it out, his expectations high. Dante stared at the 50th symbol as it appeared. A feeling of intense pain could be felt from the symbol for a brief second, then it began to recede. It all began to recede. All of it. The pain was still intense, but feeling it fade was euphoric. A new feeling washed over him, it took him a few minutes to notice it, but there was a pressure building. It began to spread throughout his body. Uncomfortable, but not painful. The pain was gone, Dante let out a sigh. Relief. The pressure began to increase. It felt like there was something building inside of him. It was uncomfortable, but it was nothing. The pressure didn¡¯t stop and a tingling sensation seemed to cover the entirety of his body. A feeling of compression on his inner organs began to build. Dante covered his mouth with his hand as he coughed. He looked at it, he had coughed blood. The ground under his feet seemed to move as a feeling of disorientation overwhelmed him. He stumbled forward, vomiting out the contents in his stomach. Dante looked at his vomit, a sickening feeling washed over him. What should have been bile and what he had eaten earlier was blood. Just blood. That tingling sensation continued to spread over his body and he felt a wetness in his ears. Dante reached up, touching his ear, his finger came out covered in blood. So much blood. His breathing became congested, every breath labored as blood leaked from his mouth and nose. His eyes began to water, obscuring his vision. Dante wiped away the moisture and looked at his hand. More blood. That tingling sensation became overwhelming, and it felt like he was he was lightly being poked with hundreds of needles. He watched in horror as the holes in his skin opened further, watched as the blood began to leak from the pores in his skin. It was too much. He opened his mouth to groan, only to release more blood. The blood leaked from his body, pooling at his feet until it reached an amount that was unfeasible. He should have been dead after losing so much. No, it wasn¡¯t his. It couldn¡¯t be. Dante looked at the glove. In his mind, the reinforcements that were keeping everything stable began to recede. Everything he had been relying on was crumbling and he could feel his consciousness falling apart. Pain washed over him, not from the glove, but from his mind itself. It felt like he was being attacked by the monster from the predatory dungeon. This time, even the blood pouring out of his mouth couldn¡¯t stop his groan of pain. Victoria was alerted. She stepped into the tent, her eyes widening as she took in the sight before her. Her gaze wandered from the pool of blood on the floor to his blood coated body. She looked as though she had no idea what to do. That made two of them. After the presence in his consciousness receded, everything seemed to fracture. Dante smiled wryly at Victoria, it seemed like things had only become worse. The presence in his mind abruptly returned, slamming back into his consciousness. Dante stumbled, suddenly losing control of his body. Victoria appeared next to him, carefully lowering him to the floor, his head resting softly on something. Dante struggled to open his eyes, they weakly fluttered open as the energy seemed to drain from him. He realized that his head was resting on Victoria¡¯s lap. He saw her leaning over him, her face a mask of worry. The sight was engraved into his mind as he lost consciousness. Chapter 87 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 87 Dante¡¯s eyes slowly opened. A feeling of clarity and grogginess simultaneously overwhelmed him. He looked around, he was inside his tent, on his bed. Shade was to his side, her tail wrapped around him protectively. Dante looked down, the blood was gone. Thankfully. His mind retraced the events that took place prior to him passing out. Surprisingly, everything quickly came to him. He vaguely wondered where Victoria was. Outside of the tent, he could hear voices. No, not voices, conversations. They came through clearly, he could pick a voice and easily hear what they were saying. Many of them were talking about Warlord Karabell¡¯s forces, apparently the fighting had started. Many of the conversations were talking about the elite groups that he had sent out, apparently there were three of them. Those that mentioned them said they were unstoppable. He must have been out longer than he had thought if the fighting had already started. Likely a day or two at the very least. Despite being energized, filled with an unbridled energy that seemed to course through him, every part of his body seemed sore and stiff. He didn¡¯t bother moving, he just lay back into the bed. All of these contradictory feelings were overwhelming, but his newfound clarity seemed to overshadow everything. Victoria walked in to his tent only a few minutes later, she looked tired. When she saw that he was conscious, she let out a long breath, as though relieved. ¡°What happened?¡± His voice was rugged and harsh from the lack of use. Victoria stepped closer, causing Shade to start hissing at her in warning. ¡°You bled for two days. It was¡­ a lot of blood. Too much. After it covered your body, it hardened until it reached a point that it couldn¡¯t be broken. It cracked two weeks after that, and that was a week ago.¡± Something seemed to fluctuate in the space around Victoria, spreading out towards Shade and wrapping around her. As soon as it touched the fox, the fox stopped hissing. That meant that he had been unconscious for almost a month, far longer than he had thought. ¡°What did you do to Shade?¡± Victoria¡¯s eyebrows knitted. ¡°What do you mean?¡± He started to move his arm, he was so sore. Hopefully from the lack of movement and not because of another reason. ¡°You did something to make her stop hissing. I saw it.¡± She seemed completely surprised, and something fluctuated in the air around her as though she was testing him. ¡°That, you did that.¡± His eyes were narrowing, remembering how docile Shade was before he bonded with her. ¡°Is that the reason she likes you more than me?¡± Victoria averted her gaze as though she had been caught doing something wrong. ¡°This is certainly surprising. I was expecting the worst, but it seems that you weren¡¯t crippled at the very least.¡± Dante stared at her, lacking comprehension. ¡°What?¡± Victoria pointed to his right hand, it was covered by the blanket that was spread over his body and he quickly yanked it away, ignoring the extreme soreness. It was gone. The Goddess¡¯ symbol was gone. His classifications gone with it. Even his monster crystals were gone. His hand was shaking in impotent rage. The stupid glove was nothing but a burden, offering him nothing but pain. And now, instead of doing something useful, this happened. Where the Goddess¡¯ symbol was, the coiled dragon eating its tail was wrapped around his wrist. It was black, like a tattoo, and on his hand every symbol he had collected on the glove was similarly engraved. ¡°Where is the glove?¡± He had never had such a desire to destroy something. ¡°Gone. It disappeared when the hardened blood around you cracked away. I wouldn¡¯t worry too much though. You sensed my loose mana, which usually isn¡¯t possible until at least one of your Classifications specializes five times.¡± Dante slumped back into his bed. Victoria was going to drive him insane. ¡°What are you even talking about?¡± He didn¡¯t mean it as an actual question, but Victoria decided to answer anyways. ¡°Every time you specialize a Classification to a new level, your overall perception will increase. It¡¯s not apparent at earlier specializations, but later it makes a massive difference. It makes things that have to do with mana and world essence easier to learn, and increases your senses to them. Of course, it¡¯s only based on your highest specialized Classification, having more than one Classification won¡¯t benefit someone when it comes to overall perception.¡± Dante glared at Victoria. ¡°You¡¯re teaching me now?¡± Without waiting for her reply, Dante gathered world essence into his wrist, trying open his Status. Waiting for the worst. His Status appeared before him, thankfully, but what surprised him was the color of it. It was a deep red, the same color of the symbols that were on his glove. The same color of his eyes. World Essence waiting to be assigned: 39,231 Blood Immortal (50) Chronomancer lvl 11/20 (0/11,000 world essence) Blademancer lvl 18/20 (0/18,000 world essence) Blade Dancer lvl 11/20 (0/11,000 world essence) Revenant lvl 11/20 (0/11,000 world essence) Dante froze. A new Classification, Blood Immortal. A name couldn¡¯t get much more ominous than that. And Instead of a level, it just had the number 50 next to it. Which coincidentally aligned with the number of Classifications he had acquired on his glove thus far. The glove might have actually been worth it. That was an insane thought. Unfortunately, the Classification brought too many implications with it. The first implication was obvious. It was a variant Classification, what that would mean for him, he wasn¡¯t really sure. The second was also obvious. Something like this wouldn¡¯t be given for free. Whoever had given him the glove would come to collect, eventually. Annoyingly, he had 39,000 world essence. After his last battle, he had just under 17,000. He had been using all of his world essence from the caravans and the skirmishes to level up his Blademancer Classification. He had made the choice after some consideration. The Classification gave him a boost in Wisdom, Intelligence, and Dexterity ¨C all of which helped him in a fight. The real reason was Manipulate Blade though. The skill had become one of his main offensive strengths, and the extra range from leveling it was a huge benefit. And all of those things didn¡¯t account for what kind of upgrade the skill might get should he specialize the Classification. That wasn¡¯t the problem though. There was no way he had just ¡®acquired¡¯ 30,000 world essence, and looking at his wrist, he had a terrible premonition. Dante opened up the Monster Crystal tab in his Classification. Skill Infused: None Passive Skill Infused: None Passive Skill Infused: None Attribute Crystal Infused: None Attribute Crystal Infused: None They were gone. That was likely where the world essence came from. He couldn¡¯t tell for sure because his Status only showed recent world essence gains for the previous twenty-four hours though. That was almost overwhelmingly depressing. His Oppressive Will skill was decent, but not a huge loss. After all, Victoria had said it was common. The huge loss was his monster crystal that gave him 7 Wisdom. Dante switched to his skills tab, checking to see if there was a skill from Blood Immortal. Olivia had told him that people with variant Classifications couldn¡¯t choose the skills they got. Unsurprisingly, there was a new skill, and it was at the top of the list.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Blood Essence Absorption: Consume the strength of your enemies to embark on the path of Immortality. That was¡­ extremely vague. Dante looked up from his Status and saw that Victoria¡¯s full attention was focused on the bright red color of his world essence. He definitely couldn¡¯t tell her about his new Classification given the fact that she had been so careful previously. He decided to drop any pretenses of ignorance though. ¡°How many Classifications do people have in the inner regions?¡± Five Classifications should provide him with an absolute advantage, even if one didn¡¯t seem to do anything yet. ¡°It depends. Two can be considered the absolute minimum for most people, unless someone of common origins manages to dilute their bloodline, but that is rare. As far as ruling powers, three is also not hard to maintain so long as they are somewhat selective with who they marry. Even commoners can maintain it as long as they don¡¯t deviate too drastically. A close combat fighter marrying someone with magic Classifications, for example, would run the risk of lowering the number of Classifications their child would receive. Four is incomparably difficult to achieve, and one of those Classifications almost always would be noncombat. There are groups of people who dedicate their entire lives to studying bloodlines for compatibility, they are often hired when someone is looking for a bride, groom, or concubine. There can be almost no variety in those Classifications though.¡± Victoria glanced up slightly, as though looking at his hair. ¡°There might be exceptions to that rule though.¡± Dante examined a strand of his hair, silver. Not surprising, he hadn¡¯t been able to reapply his hair and eye dye in over a month. It didn¡¯t really matter, Victoria likely already knew about his strange appearance, he had never hidden it in the noble territory. It also seemed like having five Classifications wasn¡¯t an absolute advantage. Still, it was an advantage nonetheless. ¡°Do any of those people with four Classifications ever get a variant Classification?¡± ¡°Unless they are lucky, no. All of the replicable variant Classifications have disastrous repercussions, you should already be familiar with Melisandre¡¯s.¡± Victoria paused, as if unsure if she should continue. ¡°There are exceptions. But I wouldn¡¯t worry too much about that.¡± He had finally gotten Victoria to talk about the inner regions, but it seemed like she was still holding back. ¡°Did Warlord Vidal already pay us for the caravans?¡± Victoria nodded, seemingly pleased to change subject. ¡°He has the essence crystals now, but I never collected them.¡± There was some good news at least, he still didn¡¯t know what to make of everything else that happened though. ¡°Could you please collect them for me?¡± Victoria gave another quick nod and stepped out of the tent. He was now alone, which was ideal. He began by re-dying his eyes and hair. Something that now gave him a sense of security. He would need to find a way to acquire more of the alchemic dye, as he was beginning to run out. Dante stared at his hand, and the new tattoo like symbols on it. He used his new skill, Blood Essence Absorption. All of those tattoo-like symbols immediately began to glow bright red, the same color that his world essence now took. Other than that, nothing happened. It didn¡¯t use any mana though. So there was that. He had a feeling that the skill did exactly what the glove did, and had no real application in combat. He still needed to find a test subject though. There were always possibilities. On a whim, he sent mana out of his body and began forming it into a shield. Same red color, but the mana was far easier to manipulate. Well, not easier, it was the same as before. It just seemed like his sensitivity to the mana had drastically increased. Dante began to spread mana though his mind and body, using it to sense his condition. He certainly didn¡¯t seem immortal. Everything was the same, and he had a hunch that if his heart stopped beating, he would still die. It was not something he would be testing though. One strange thing he did notice, was that all of his scars were gone. It was like he had been remade, there wasn¡¯t a single blemish on his body. He wasn¡¯t sure how he felt about that, each of those were hard earned, and felt like a part of him. In his hand, he created a small dagger. He used it to make a small cut on his arm. Definitely not immortal, it pierced his skin easily enough when he put enough pressure on it. The cut also didn¡¯t heal immediately, or at all. That did give him an idea though. He swapped hands, placing the dagger in his left hand, then began to cut his right hand. Like when the glove was on his hand, the hand seemed to be impervious to the damage. Dante grit his teeth, brought the dagger up, then slammed it into his hand point first. Nothing, it bounced off. His hand felt the force as they rebounded off each other, but there was no pain, no penetration. He repeated the process, this time Cursing his dagger with his skill before he did so. Still nothing. It seemed like at least one part of him was ¡®immortal¡¯. He wasn¡¯t done testing it though. He had an overwhelming desire to find his limits. He regripped the dagger and began feeding in world essence. The process was surprisingly smooth, and the red glow that covered the blade was almost menacing in comparison to the azure blue glow from regular world essence. He looked between the dagger and his hand. This could hurt, but there wouldn¡¯t be any lasting damage with his regenerative passive. Holding his breath, Dante brought the dagger down. The two slammed off each other, but nothing happened. That was useful. At that moment Victoria walked back into the tent. The two of them froze. Victoria, with two bags in her hands, and him, with a world essence filled dagger held over his hand as though he was trying to stab himself. Victoria looked between him and the dagger as she cleared her throat. ¡°I know you¡¯re feeling a bit overwhelmed, but I don¡¯t think that chopping it off is the answer to your problems.¡± Dante let out a sigh as he cut off the world essence. Of course she would walk in at that moment. ¡°I was just testing something, are these all of the essence crystals?¡± Victoria shook her head. ¡°There are two more bags, but I didn¡¯t want to let anyone see you yet, so I brought them myself.¡± Dante pulled the blanket off of himself and stood up, ignoring his stiff muscles. Sitting in a bed for a month probably wasn¡¯t good for them. He began to crush the crystals, barely finishing the first two bags by the time Victoria brought over two more. Then, he did the same with those. That done, Dante threw himself back onto the bed. He didn¡¯t want to even think about how painful the first level of the spectral attunement would be when he was so stiff. He opened his Status. World Essence waiting to be assigned: 118,731 Blood Immortal (50) Chronomancer lvl 11/20 (0/11,000 world essence) Blademancer lvl 18/20 (0/18,000 world essence) Blade Dancer lvl 11/20 (0/11,000 world essence) Revenant lvl 11/20 (0/11,000 world essence) Recent world essence gain: 79,500 World Essence from: Essence Crystal x 452 He was somewhat surprised that the warlord had given him the exact amount. He would have thought that it would be one or two higher or lower at the very least. Without even a second thought, Dante leveled Blademancer to the maximum level of 20. Blademancer has reached level 20 Attributes have been added: +2 Intelligence +2 Wisdom +2 Dexterity Skill description for Manipulate Blade has been updated From prior experience, he knew that the skill¡¯s update was just a 5 foot increase in the range, nothing too major. World Essence waiting to be assigned: 81,731 Blood Immortal (50) Chronomancer lvl 11/20 (0/11,000 world essence) Blademancer lvl 20/20 (0/100,000 world essence) Blade Dancer lvl 11/20 (0/11,000 world essence) Revenant lvl 11/20 (0/11,000 world essence) He debated whether or not he should just go for the stat gains that leveling other Classifications would provide, but decided against it in favor of specializing Blademancer. He still didn¡¯t know what kind of upgrade Manipulate Blade might get. He opened his Attribute tab. Name: Dante HP: 220/220 Mana: 360/360 (+4.6/sec) Blood Essence: 0/50 Strength: 21 Constitution: 22 Dexterity: 43 (+6.45) Agility: 21 (+3.15) Intelligence: 36 Wisdom: 46 Charisma: 18 Dante looked at his attributes and didn¡¯t even bother being surprised any more. Blood essence, of course, why not. 0/50, meaning that he had discovered the use of his new skill. Unfortunately, there was no indication that the blood essence would do anything once he got it. Other than that new addition, he was pleased to see how much his Intelligence, Wisdom, and Dexterity were coming along. The only thing that was slightly disappointing was his Strength, Constitution, and Agility. They were definitely falling behind, but should shape up once he began leveling his other Classifications. And of course, his grandest achievement was Charisma. A whopping 18. It had jumped astronomically somehow, as it was only 13 when he had left Melisandre. No longer was he socially retarded. Probably. Satisfied, Dante closed out his Status. He stood, then stretched out his stiff back. He hadn¡¯t gotten a chance to try out that cook he had spent so much effort to obtain. Yet. That was about to change. ¡°Where are you going?¡± Dante was just about to step out of his tent when he heard Victoria¡¯s voice. He looked back to see her lounging on a chair, likely one that she had brought over during the time he was unconscious. ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to go out like that.¡± Victoria pointed at him and spoke as though she was stating the obvious. Dante¡¯s head tilted slightly in confusion. ¡°I already reapplied my dye.¡± One of Victoria¡¯s eyebrows rose, as though she found what he said to be amusing. ¡°Fine, do as you like. I would suggest you check your reflection first though.¡± He wasn¡¯t sure what Victoria was going on about, but created a flat weapon that was large enough to use as a mirror. He looked at it, froze, then saw the horrified expression staring back at him. Dante looked at Victoria, the mortification still on his face. ¡°Please tell me you can fix this.¡± Victoria¡¯s lips curled, now even more amused. ¡°I think you look rather good.¡± His eyes narrowed into a glare. She was clearly toying with him. ¡°That¡¯s the problem.¡± He looked back into the mirror. What were once slightly handsome features, something that wouldn¡¯t have drawn attention, had become otherworldly. Every line and contour of his face had been sharpened, and he could swear that some of the proportions had been changed. Even his nose was different. He began poking his face, making sure it was real and not some sick joke that Victoria had played on him. It was no wonder his Charisma had shot up 5 points. If he stepped outside, every eye would be immediately drawn to him. He would totally stand out. Who in their right mind would want something like that? The glove was evil. That was increasingly apparent. Pure, unadulterated, evil. Victoria spoke, breaking him out of his murderous thoughts. ¡°I really don¡¯t have a solution to your problem. There might be some relic or artifact that can help, but there isn¡¯t much we can do if you want to look like your previous self. I¡¯m sure we could¡­ tone it down a bit though.¡± Chapter 88 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 88 Dante stepped out of his tent, finally. He felt like a pampered noblewoman, his face now caked with layers makeup. It was Victoria¡¯s fault, he didn¡¯t know how, or even why she was at fault, but he knew it was her fault. She applied it in a way that made his features less sharp, but that was basically useless. If anything, it only made his appearance look realistic, but just barely. Upon stepping out of his tent, he immediately became aware of the fact that his efforts were in vain. Everyone who even glanced at him seemed to completely absorbed by his appearance, several of them starting up a conversation with each other about him. As a predominantly male camp, many of the conversations about him were less than flattering. The few women who did see him instantly perked up, and more than a few of them stealthily readjusted their assets and rearranged their hair. That had the added effect of making the men next to them more alert toward him, not necessarily hostile, but not far from it all the same. This was hell. Dante ignored the crowd that was passing by and moved further into the area where the combatants in his unit should be. He was pleased to see that the Warriors were vigorously sparring. All of them were drenched with sweat, indicating that they had been at it for quite a while. Off to the side, Daniel was competing with the archers. They were all firing into the makeshift targets that made up the archery range, and all of them hit the center of the target every time. It made competing somewhat pointless in his opinion. And the last group was huddled around Tabitha. The priest was knitting away as she spoke about the Goddess, while Jayden and the magic Classifications were sitting around her. Oddly enough, one of them was actually listening to her, and even more oddly, that person was Jayden. She had his rapt attention, and as Dante got closer, he noticed that Jayden was wearing more than one piece of poorly knitted clothing. Dante¡¯s eyes narrowed as he looked at Jayden, he seemed to be acting out of character. The Ranger with the mana breaking ability, Thomas, happened to glance back as he drew near. He stared in shock momentarily. ¡°Holy shit¡­¡± That brought everyone everything else to a stop. All of them were alerted to his presence, and more than one stared with their mouth agape. Dante¡¯s expression dulled. They all looked at him like he was less than human, a stare that he was familiar with. Fortunately, it was somewhat different than what he experienced in the past. It was still frustrating though. He hadn¡¯t gotten close to any of the combatants in his unit, and now he was starting to hate them. Thankfully the Warriors, Tabitha, and Jayden were calm, to their credit, but the others were annoyingly surprised. Jayden stood, dusted himself off, then walked over. ¡°Dear brother, you have been gone for almost a month. I was beginning to worry, but you look better than ever. Far better actually.¡± Dante ignored him and looked at Daniel instead. ¡°Daniel, go find Addison and bring her here.¡± His cold voice garnered the desired effect, and Daniel quickly left without argument. After handling Daniel, Dante addressed Jayden. ¡°What level are your Classifications?¡± Jayden smiled, as though in triumph. ¡°I have specialized both my Classifications twice.¡± Dante¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly. A noncombat Classification that had specialized two Classifications twice was more than just a bit dangerous. ¡°You have a cooking Classification and a Strategist Classification, what do they do?¡± He had never really come into contact with either of those Classifications, but knew that both were in high demand, in different aspects.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Jayden waved a hand dismissively. ¡°They¡¯re inconsequential, I can assure you. My cooking Classification only increases my cooking talent, unless I handle special ingredients. And my Strategist Classification aids me in examining likely outcomes, as well as deducing the likelihood of those outcomes.¡± Jayden somehow managed to be annoying and amusing at the same time. And that was an annoying combination. ¡°I want to take out the enemy mage unit in the eastern front, what do you think we need to do to accomplish that?¡± He had spent an entire day in his tent while Victoria acquired the makeup for his face. He had passed the time by listening in on the conversation of others with his newfound hearing ability. He had almost constantly heard mention of three ¡®unstoppable¡¯ mercenary groups under Warlord Karabell, and anyone who mentioned them sounded completely fearful of them. The three groups fought independently from each other. They set the pace for the war, and were the reason for the three large fronts. Warlord Karabell¡¯s mercenary group fought on the main front, they were a ragtag mixture of elite close combat combatants as well as magic and ranged Classifications. From what he heard, they fought in perfect harmony, laying to waste any common mercenary groups that got in their way. That group was currently being held at bay by Warlord Vidal¡¯s mercenary group. The two had fought to a standstill, neither side having an advantage. The main front was directly in front of the main camp, and had the most combatants fighting there. On the western front, a mounted mercenary group completely dictated the battle. They used speed, sweeping through on fast hybrid creatures to decimate any combatants that got close to them. That mercenary group sustained the most losses of the three, but that didn¡¯t say much. It was also the largest mercenary group that the enemies fielded, made up of several hundred riders. Both warlord¡¯s forces sustained the most losses on the Western front, and it was the second largest front. On the eastern front, there was a mercenary group that was made up entirely of magic Classifications. They utilized a barrier that stopped incoming projectiles, but they could still fire off projectiles from inside. It was unbreakable from a distance, and thanks to the help of other mercenary groups acting as vanguard, no one could get close enough to enter the barrier and stop them. They were the weakest out of the three, and fought on the field with the lowest number of Combatants, but they hadn¡¯t sustained a single loss since the war started. He had chosen to reenter the war on the eastern front since it was the tamest of the three. There was no need to give Jayden details on the group he had mentioned. Everyone in the camp already knew about them. Jayden had a look of contemplation on his face. It was the first time that Dante had seen him act seriously. ¡°You would need to blitz them. Without getting inside the barrier it would be impossible to wipe them out completely, and they would just retreat if they thought that they were going to be overwhelmed. It would also be impossible to set a trap prior to the fight since the field is being watched.¡± Jayden paused, his eyes wandering as he thought it over. ¡°There are actually hundreds of methods that have a high probability of success, but almost all of them will require a large number of losses on our side.¡± Incurring losses in war was to be expected, but if Jayden thought it worth mentioning, the losses would likely be significant. ¡°Almost all of them?¡± Jayden¡¯s eyes stopped wandering as he looked at him and smiled. ¡°Dear brother, I¡¯m not sure what you¡¯ve heard since you were gone, but our side is a bit strained. In fact, our situation is quite dire. Our tactics will be limited by the types of Classifications that we have access to. If you manage to get your hands on mounted troops or Classifications that excel in speed, the fight won¡¯t be much of a problem at all.¡± That meant they would need to wait for Addison, who he had already called for. Dante looked away from Jayden. The others in the Redwing unit had all stopped their individual tasks, Tabitha being the exception, she was still preaching. No one was listening though. He took another look at Jayden¡¯s poorly knitted scarf and coat. ¡°Why are you wearing that?¡± Jayden looked down at the indicated items. ¡°I suffered a minor loss shortly after you became sick, and miss Tabitha had been reluctant to heal me. It took quite the effort, but now she is more than willing to help me with the even the smallest scrape.¡± He said the words with a small amount of pride, and Dante was pleased to hear that his orders were being carried out. He had told the Warriors to ¡®deal¡¯ with Jayden if they thought he was getting out of hand. To the side, he heard the sound of footsteps, and he turned to see Daniel and Addison. As soon as Addison saw him, she literally froze in place. Chapter 89 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 89 Even after giving Addison a moment, she didn¡¯t seem to have the intention of walking forward of her own volition. She just stood there, staring at him. It seemed that Daniel gave her no warning. Dante let out a sigh and began walking toward her, Jayden silently following in his wake. A bag. That was the answer. He had plenty of them from the grain he took from the caravans. Two holes poked into it so he could see, and maybe a few smaller holes so he could breath easily. Even if he still drew attention with a bag over his head, it couldn¡¯t be this bad. He could only hope that the reactions he was currently getting were from the surprise and not his appearance itself. After being gone for so long and coming back completely changed, anyone would be shocked. Those who saw him for the first time wouldn¡¯t have a reaction as exaggerated as Addison¡¯s. Hopefully. ¡°Addison.¡± Addison snapped out of her dazed state. ¡°Huh?¡± A light tinge of red spread across her cheeks, as though embarrassed for her lapse in concentration. Dante calmed himself. Patience. Patience was key in this situation. ¡°My unit is going to be moving to the eastern front, what groups are currently fighting there, and who can you give us?¡± Dante looked at Daniel, who was still standing nearby as though he was a part of the conversation. ¡°Go practice on your accuracy.¡± That awarded him a glare from Daniel, but the Mage still left all the same. ¡°There are four of our weaker mercenary groups currently on that front. All of them are made up of close combat fighters and archers, they also have a few utility combatants. Other than them, we have focused a decent number of our conscripted troops on that field. In total, there are around five thousand combatants on our side of the eastern front. Those conscripted troops are far more varied, but some of them might have decent Classifications or skills.¡± Dante¡¯s expression dulled. That was the lousiest description he had ever heard. ¡°That¡¯s all you know? Who is currently leading the forces on that front?¡± Addison¡¯s expression faltered slightly after hearing his reproachful tone. ¡°We haven¡¯t really focused on that front. We don¡¯t take many losses there, so we have just focused on keeping them at bay. The command of our forces is in the hands of those mercenary groups, they each independently command a portion of the troops, and they just focus on keeping their losses to a minimum.¡± So basically, he had five thousand troops with unknown abilities. Some of them utility combatants. Utility combatants were Classifications that aided in combat, but mostly indirectly. Basically, Classifications like Geomancers among a few others. They weren¡¯t to be mistaken for support Classifications though. Support Classifications had skills that have a very direct impact during combat. The opposing mage that could create a barrier was an example. Dante gave Jayden a cursory glance to make sure he was paying attention. Jayden¡¯s eyes were wandering, but that didn¡¯t mean much. He fully intended to make use of his Strategist Classification. ¡°I¡¯ll be taking command of those four mercenary groups. Other than those five thousand troops, how many others can you give me? Mounted troops or Combatants that excel in speed would be preferable.¡± Addison seemed to be taken aback by the straightforward command. ¡°I may be able to move around a few of the conscripted units, but I can¡¯t spare any mercenary groups. Especially mounted ones. Almost all of them are engaged in the main front.¡± That sounded pretty terrible, but Dante still looked at Jayden in askance. Jayden shrugged. ¡°I would need to see the totality of the opposing force as well as the variety of their troop composition prior to having a definitive opinion. It sounds hopeless though.¡± After getting that confirmation, he returned his attention to Addison. ¡°That isn¡¯t going to work. Relocate other groups from the main and western fronts if you need to.¡± Addison had a complicated look on her face. ¡°That¡¯s impossible. We would incur too many losses. It could cost us the entire war.¡± Dante pushed further. ¡°From what I¡¯ve heard, we are already at a disadvantage on all three of the larger fronts, only barely fighting to a standstill on one of them. If we don¡¯t handle those three mercenary groups, we will lose sooner or later anyways.¡± Addison bit her lip as a look of contemplation covered her face. Jayden stepped up, placing a hand on his shoulder. ¡°Allow me, dear brother.¡± Jayden stepped closer to Addison, far closer than necessary, then leaned toward her as he began to whisper into her ear. Strangely, he couldn¡¯t hear what Jayden said at all, even with his newfound hearing ability. Addison looked just as surprised as Dante when Jayden began to whisper into her ear, but as the whispering continued, a look of shock replaced the surprise. Her face began to drain of blood, her complexion becoming increasingly pale as her mouth widened. Then only a few seconds later, her face flushed bright red, she looked infuriated, jerking away from Jaden and stomped on his foot. Dante winced as he heard a loud crack.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Jayden shrieked, then began hopping around on one foot in a comical manner. Despite definitely having a broken foot, he was very clearly putting on a show. ¡°I¡¯ll send the extra forces to the eastern front in a week¡¯s time.¡± After saying those words through gritted teeth, Addison spun on her heels and sauntered away. ¡°Ouch, ouch, ouch.¡± Dante followed Jayden¡¯s hopping form, he was headed directly toward Tabitha and the others. Jayden hopped closer until he was directly in front of Tabitha, then he slumped on the floor, holding his injured foot up in front of her. Tabitha just continued to knit as she spoke of the salvation given to those who worship the Goddess. Jayden wiggled his foot in front of her, as though trying to get her attention. It was an action that must have caused a severe amount of pain, but Jayden seemed to completely ignore it. ¡°Good lady Tabitha, I have suffered under the misdeeds of others.¡± Tabitha continued to knit, ignoring him, and Jayden seemed content to wait patiently. To the side, Dante cleared his throat. Jayden looked up. ¡°Fear not, dear brother, Miss Tabitha is simply too kind. I¡¯m sure she will aid me as soon as she is able. You need not worry yourself.¡± Dante glanced at Tabitha, she didn¡¯t bat an eyelash. ¡°You¡¯re certainly in good hands.¡± He shifted his gaze back to Jayden. ¡°What did you tell Addison to make her give in?¡± ¡°Oh, that?¡± Jayden waved a hand dismissively. ¡°I merely convinced her that helping us is preferable to the alternative.¡± Thinking back to the rapid change in Addison¡¯s expression, Jayden¡¯s explanation seemed to be quite lacking. ¡°And what is the alternative?¡± Jayden¡¯s lips curled into a light smile. ¡°I simply explained the situation to her. Not only does she require your presence to even have the chance of surviving this war, but she is also quite smitten by you.¡± Dante rolled his eyes. That explained the flushed face and foot stomp. He vaguely wondered what Jayden had said, but didn¡¯t really care. He looked over the other combatants in his unit. ¡°We are going to join the eastern front within a week, prepare yourselves.¡± The reception was mixed, a few of the combatants seemed happy to finally see some action, the rest didn¡¯t seem too excited. The second group was far smarter in his opinion. After the announcement, Dante stepped far off to the side and pulled out his alchemy tools. He wanted to see if there were any changes in his level of skill now that his sensitivity with mana and world essence had increased. He would have preferred to work in the privacy of his tent, but that wasn¡¯t really an option when he needed to utilize an open fire. After setting up the fire and getting the tools ready, he began going through his stores of plants. It was unfortunate, but Victoria didn¡¯t have enough preservation jars to hold all of the plants he had collected, meaning that most of them were just sitting in his storage. Inevitably, more than half of them were beginning to spoil after more than a month of sitting out. He began to sort through them, stacking the useless plants off to the side and keeping the ones that were moderately okay in his storage. He would need to restock soon. Dante pulled out the rest of the vials and beakers needed to mix the plants and other alchemic reagents. Then he pulled out the recipe book and began flipping through it. The selection of possibilities was definitely limited. The book only had a few tier one pill recipes, as they were only foundational recipes for beginners. And of those few recipes, many of them required plants or other materials that he didn¡¯t have. It left him with two choices. A simple energy boosting pill that didn¡¯t even have a name, and a tier one ¡®essence pill¡¯. The essence pill was a simple pill that worked similarly to essence crystals. When made, different additional ingredients could be added, and those ingredients would give a portion of their world essence to the person who consumed the pill. At the tier one level, only one ingredient could have the world essence extricated, and only a small percentage of the world essence within the ingredient would be given to the person who consumed the pill. At his level, the world essence was inconsequential unless he found an incomparably rare ingredient to use. With what he had on hand, a created pill would give him roughly 5-10 world essence depending on the quality of the pill he created. It was unfortunate that Victoria didn¡¯t have a larger skillset in the field of alchemy. The book she had given him also had recipes for different elixirs and powders, but she had no skill in those fields and was unable to teach him anything. Some of them would have been much more useful, and could even be made with the ingredients he currently had on hand. Dante set out the ingredients needed for the essence pill and got to work. The first step was incomparably smooth compared to his past experiences, but that didn¡¯t say much. Processing the different ingredients was always relatively easy, because until they were mixed with essence, nothing exploded. It was a crucial step though, as even a slight mistake so early in the process could have disastrous effects on the final product. After processing the plants, he began to liquify them. Even the mineral reagents had to be reduced to a liquid. It wasn¡¯t a hard process, he simply pushed his red world essence into the processed ingredient and held it over the enchanted flame, careful not to overdo it on the amount of world essence. After that, came the mixing process. The risky part. For some reason, things tended to explode during this phase. A lesson he had learned several past experiences. Things were different this time though. He had a feel for the integrity of the mixture as he combined different amounts of the liquified ingredients. Every time that he came close to adding too much of one thing to the mixture, a feeling of instability seemed to radiate out from the world essence that was inside of it, and it was easy to adjust after that. After finishing the mixture, he held the finished product over the enchanted fire and began to rid it of the liquid and form it into a pill with his mana. This time around there was no overload of world essence, he slowly increased the amount until it was roughly acceptable, then easily formed the pill. Dante held the pill out in front of him. No lumps, no discoloration. He looked up at the sun, an hour had passed. That was ridiculously fast compared to the other times he had practiced alchemy. He tossed the pill in his mouth, chewed it, then swallowed it. Then he opened up his Status. 7 world essence gained from the essence pill. Dante looked at his ingredients, he had enough for one more. He repeated the process. This time things went even smoother. Every step of the process was ever so slightly easier, and closer to perfection. He couldn¡¯t be sure, but he was pretty sure that he finished the second pill even faster. When done, Dante ate the pill and checked his Status. 8 world essence this time. A wide smile spread across his face. As a tier one pill, even a novice alchemist could have replicated the feat with almost no practice, but that wasn¡¯t the point. The implications of this were huge. His new sensitivity to mana and world essence increased his ability in alchemy several fold, and he was just scratching the surface. But there was no need to stop there. This would apply to all crafts. Specifically, enchanting. Just thinking of the impact that would have on the weapons he created filled him with excitement. Dante stood. He had seven days until his unit moved to the eastern front, and a pile of coins in his storage. He just needed to find a way to spend it. It was time to take a trip. Chapter 90 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 90 After asking around, Dante discovered that there was actually a recently constructed city nearby that acted as a major trading hub in the Wastelands. Jayden had been the one to provide him with the information, and he had been reassured that the city ¡®would have every commodity that he could possibly desire¡¯. Unfortunately, the journey to the city itself was a full two days by raptor ¨C according to Jayden. And that meant that at the absolute most, he could only stay there for three days. After discovering that little fact, he immediately went to find Victoria to tell her that he was going to leave for a week. She was surprisingly agreeable, even allowing him to make the trip by himself. Only mentioning that he shouldn¡¯t stay away too long, as the situation in their camp was growing unstable, and the opportunity to hone himself on the battlefield may be a fleeting one. He didn¡¯t dally after that, immediately setting off on raptor in the direction of this trading city; Sloria.
Two days later, Dante flew into a large valley. Several camps were scattered on the ground below him haphazardly, their numbers were astronomical. Several of them were even larger than Warlord Vidal¡¯s main encampment, yet they were just one of many inside the deep valley. The valley itself was easily defendable. The cliffs on each side were large, yet at the same time steep enough to hinder an enemy. Even excavating a pathway into a portion of it with a group of Geomancers would be quite the challenge. Other than that, there were only two directions to enter or exit the area. Both of them by following the heavily guarded path through the valley that those encamped troops were watching. There were three more surprising aspects of the valley though. The first was the fields. Vast expanses of crops that were being tended by farmers. It was an unusual sight. Thus far, they were the first farms that he had seen in the wastelands. He knew there had to be some, the amount of grain he had seen in the past months was evidence enough, but he had never seen them. In his experience, everyone who wasn¡¯t starving themselves on those disgusting rations seemed content to hunt or gather their food. Another surprising aspect of the valley was the number of people entering and exiting. There was a steady stream, and many of them were carrying goods. And the last surprise was the permanent structures within the main encampments. Despite obviously being comprised of mercenary groups, the encampments had plenty of stone structures, and their layouts looked similar to small towns in structure. Everything below him looked like a foundation. In one of the deepest areas of the valley was Sloria itself. The city was massive, and like most structures in the wastelands, was made for war. Roughly circular in shape, the city was made up of three large chambers. The first chamber comprised of the entirety of the city. The wall was large, but not too extravagant. A majority of the housing seemed to be inside of that chamber. The second chamber was also roughly circular, but further inside the city and raised almost a full story off the ground level. The walls that made up that chamber were even larger and thicker, yet still couldn¡¯t be compared to the third chamber. Inside of it seemed to be a wealthier district, as well as several large barracks. The third chamber was raised an additional story higher than the second chamber. The walls were absolutely enormous and well-fortified, and all of the buildings inside of it were vast structures. The highest powers of the city likely did their business there. The entire city was made so that if a wall was breached, they could cede that section of the city and pull their troops back to defend the walls of the next chamber. It was hard to believe that the entire valley had been vacant only a year ago. Actually, very hard to believe. Especially when a warlord didn¡¯t lord over the area. All of those who could be warlords didn¡¯t take up the title, instead they collectively pulled their powers together to cooperatively control Sloria. That in and of itself made Sloria an anomaly in the wastelands. Jayden had said that those who control it had the potential to arise as a stable power in the wastelands, and after seeing it for himself, he couldn¡¯t help but think that Jayden might be right. Having the potential to arise as a stable power didn¡¯t mean much though, Sloria wouldn¡¯t be the first, and none of those before it had succeeded. Dante looked at the others that were flying in the air around him, around a dozen people headed in different directions, and all of them were on raptors. Raptors were the preferred flying mount for practicality. Among creatures that could be used as flying mounts their personalities tended to be the most agreeable, and therefore the easiest to handle. There were others of course, but they were far rarer and some of their behaviors unpredictable. Those that headed towards the city all flew down toward a small field just outside of Sloria. There was one very eye-catching exception though. A young woman was flying in on a raptor that had a red tinge to its feathers, and instead of flying down to the field, she flew directly into the third chamber of the city. The red tinge to the raptors feathers was enough to draw attention, as it likely meant that the raptor was an elemental variant or hybrid, but the woman¡¯s extraordinary demeanor was what truly drew eyes.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Dante didn¡¯t dare fly directly into the city like her, and instead chose to follow the others and land on the small field that had a very large stable next to it. The second his raptor touched the ground, Dante hopped off. Something about the tactile feeling of dirt under his feet was soothing after flying for two days. A swarthy man approached with a group of people that looked to be stable boys. The stable boys surrounded his raptor, calming it in a practiced manner as they prepared to harness it. The swarthy man greeted him with a wide smile. ¡°Welcome to Sloria, sir. Visitor¡¯s creatures aren¡¯t allowed in the city itself, but we can take care of your raptor for three silvers a day, which includes both feeding and grooming services.¡± Dante looked at the others that were landing around him, they were all handing over their mounts to the people working the stable as though it was standard. ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll be staying for three days.¡± The swarthy man nodded and gestured to the stable boys. They led his raptor away as the swarthy man brought out a flat piece of metal with a few symbols engraved on it. It looked like it was created by an artificer, and gave off a very distinct sensation. ¡°When you want to pick up your raptor just bring this to the stable. There is also no need to pay in advance. Be warned though, if your balance owed exceeds 3 gold, we will sell your raptor to get a return on our investment.¡± Dante took the piece of metal. ¡°Understood.¡± Then without another word, he began to walk toward the city gates. Sloria seemed to almost be organized too well. The autonomy reminded him of a city in the noble¡¯s territory. The main gate to the city had a large portcullis that was fully opened, and the guards that were checking the people entering were efficient, but not too thorough. Almost all of the mercenaries were granted access immediately upon showing their group¡¯s colors, and the rest were just given a once over. The main exception were those who were bringing goods inside of the city, those were thoroughly checked, and a tax was taken based on the value of what they carried. Strangely, none of those who payed a tax on their goods were reluctant to pay. On the contrary, most of them almost seemed excited to pay for access to the city so that they could hawk their wares. Dante stepped up to the back of the line. He was somewhat surprised by the line¡¯s composition; a majority were children or women. Then again, most of the men could just walk straight in after flashing their mercenary group¡¯s colors. He judged the speed of the crowd as well as the number of people in front of him. Despite moving quickly, it looked as though he had a half hour wait in the future. His appearance earned him more than one uncomfortable stare from those around him. One in particular was from a ragged young girl that was holding the hand of her mother. The two of them were directly in front of him. And after one cursory glance from the girl, her eyes were wide and locked onto him as though she was unwilling to look away for even a second. ¡°So pretty¡­¡± The woman that was holding onto the girl¡¯s hand looked down, then followed the girl¡¯s eyes to him. She also seemed surprised, yet controlled herself rather quickly. It seemed that his appearance didn¡¯t have much of an effect on her. She tugged on the girl¡¯s hand, grabbing her attention and giving her a reproachful look. ¡°Elise, it¡¯s rude to stare.¡± The woman looked up at him, eyeing him warily. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about my sister, sir. She¡¯s still young and lacks manners.¡± Dante could only smile wryly after being called ¡®pretty¡¯. ¡°It¡¯s fine. If anything, I should be flattered.¡± He was somewhat surprised that they were sisters. At first glance, the age difference seemed vast, but upon further inspection he realized that the woman holding the girl¡¯s hand must have been in her early twenties. Both of them seemed quite haggard though, they likely had traveled quite some distance, and judging by the wary look she had given him, been through quite a lot. Upon hearing his words, the woman let out a breath in what seemed to be relief. His curiosity definitely got the better of him. ¡°Long journey?¡± The woman nodded slowly. ¡°We were living in Trest, which is three months south of here. It was in Warlord Zacharias¡¯ territory before he was killed. We barely made it out of the city before it was sacked.¡± Dante winced. In the wastelands, women and children had something of a protected status. More people were always needed, and no one would willingly hinder the growth of the population. Things could be a bit more unpredictable when armies got involved though. It definitely depended on the discipline of the mercenary groups under a warlord, but more than a few atrocities occur after a city gets seized. As the line slowly shuffled forward, Dante stepped up so he was alongside the two of them. The information he had on Sloria was lacking, and if he was going to sit in the line anyways, he might as well try to learn something. ¡°You traveled three months to relocate here? It seems a bit out of the way.¡± Elise looked up at him and smiled enthusiastically. ¡°We came all the way here because we are going to get a house all to ourselves!¡± Dante¡¯s eyebrows knitted slightly in confusion, and he looked to the girl¡¯s older sister for an answer. Elise¡¯s sister seemed equally confused by his lack of understanding. ¡°You haven¡¯t heard much about Sloria, have you?¡± Dante shook his head. ¡°I only heard about it two days ago, and came because I needed to buy a few things.¡± Elise¡¯s sister had a look of understanding on her face. ¡°The first lady of Sloria is offering sanctuary to any women or children in the wastelands. The women have to work at one of her businesses, but the children can live for free until they are of age.¡± That was interesting. He began to think over the implications. Especially the title first lady, that was odd. ¡°Does the first lady have a lot of influence in Sloria?¡± Elise nodded excitedly. ¡°The first lady is the strongest! The only reason we came here is because she is so nice.¡± Dante smiled politely at Elise, to the girl¡¯s delight, but still looked at her sister for answers. Thankfully, her sister understood. ¡°I think she¡¯s influential... From what I¡¯ve heard, Sloria has five leaders, and she is one among them. Every time I¡¯ve heard mention of Sloria, the first lady is always brought up in conversation.¡± Her knowledge was rather lacking, but that was understandable. She still knew far more than him in any case. They came to the front of the line and Dante stepped through the gates after a single glance over from the guards. Then he waved goodbye to Elise and her sister. Sloria was interesting. Or rather, the way it was structured was interesting. As his eyes scanned over the stacked buildings that were clearly made by Geomancers, he saw that almost all of the people were either women or children. This first lady sounded magnanimous, giving shelter to any women or children that needed it for little to no work. That seemed surface level though. For a new power, the recruitment of so many non-combat civilians looked more like the foundation for an empire than anything else. Chapter 91 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 91 Dante continued to walk down the streets of Sloria¡¯s outer chamber. Despite coming to Sloria so that he could shop, he wasn¡¯t in a hurry, and decided to enjoy his free time. The city was far nicer than he had thought, and despite the crowded residential areas, traffic wasn¡¯t a problem at all. It seemed that the entire city was created with great forethought, the width of every road in the main districts were far larger than necessary. It gave everything a spacious feeling where it should have felt cluttered. He walked past several vendors and small shops, a vast majority of them tended by women. It made him wonder if all of them were owned by the first lady that he had heard mention of. Most of them were actually selling food. There wasn¡¯t much variety, but occasionally he would walk past someone who was selling cooked meat. Just the smell made his mouth water. The others sold a variety of wares, mostly things that would be considered necessities. There were cheap plain clothes, pots, pans, and fabrics being sold among other things. The overall atmosphere of those around him was cheerful, which was strange. He had never been in a place that was so full of optimism. He didn¡¯t dislike it though. As he walked, Dante also strained his senses outward, trying to pick up on key pieces of information from those around him. It was somewhat pointless though, almost all of the conversations were rather frivolous, and those that weren¡¯t didn¡¯t provide much. He did pick up quite a few interesting pieces of gossip though. A girl named sally was rather notorious in the district he was currently in. All the older women talked about how she was leading on three different men, none of them having any idea about each other. There was also the scattered talk of a fight taking place later that day in a place called the Combatant¡¯s Hall. Someone popular named Ferris would be taking part, and most of the conversations on the topic were focused on him. There wasn¡¯t much to go on from that, but Dante deduced that the Combatant¡¯s Hall was in the second section of Sloria. It was definitely worth checking out. After walking for a few hours, Dante veered off the path of the road, following the mouth watering smell that was assaulting his nose until he came to a stall that was selling freshly made sausages. The woman working the stall looked rather comely. She was turned to the side, tending a fire and rotating the meat so that the sausages were cooked evenly. Dante had a hard time tearing his eyes away from the meat. It had been a long time since he had eaten something that smelt so delicious. ¡°Excuse me. Could I purchase a few of your sausages?¡± The woman tending to the fire turned to face him. Seeing his eager expression, she smiled amiably. ¡°Of course, they are 20 coppers each.¡± Dante¡¯s eyes widened slightly. 20 coppers for one sausage was an astronomical price, still worth it though. ¡°I¡¯ll take two.¡± He fished into his pockets as he pulled the coins out of his storage. He used the larger coins that were worth five coppers each, then handed them to her. The woman handed him two sticks, each had a sausage on it. ¡°Here you are, dear. Careful, they are hot.¡± Dante grabbed it and bit into one carefully. He sucked in a sharp breath, the were hot indeed. The woman laughed cheerfully at his visible irritation. ¡°Don¡¯t say that I didn¡¯t warn you.¡± Dante looked up from the sausage and tried to regain his composure as he cleared his throat. ¡°Thank you, it is delicious. Is this stall owned by the first lady by chance?¡± The comely woman tended to the sausages that were suspended over the fire before answering. ¡°Of course. The first lady owns almost all of the businesses in Sloria.¡± Thinking back to all the small shops and vendors he had seen thus far, this first lady¡¯s influence should be far greater than he initially thought. ¡°Isn¡¯t that a bit problematic?¡± The woman looked at him with genuine confusion. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Dante waved his hand, indicating the entirety of their surroundings. ¡°It all seems somewhat exploitive. The first lady invites you here and offers you free housing, but you have to work her shops. Don¡¯t you feel a bit controlled?¡± His question was probing. It was something he was genuinely curious about. With the setup in Sloria, completely controlling and oppressing the women and children they invited would be beyond easy. The comely woman let out a good-natured laugh. ¡°You haven¡¯t been in Sloria long, have you?¡± Dante shook his head. ¡°I just arrived this morning.¡± ¡°That would explain it. You may not have realized it, but not everyone who comes to Sloria works. There just aren¡¯t enough jobs. Due to the kindness of the first lady, even those who can¡¯t find a task for themselves are provided with shelter and enough food to survive.¡± He didn¡¯t even want to think about how much food so many people would consume. It also now made sense why so many people were eager to bring their goods into the city. To support such a large population, all of their goods would immediately be bought up at premium rates. ¡°If you could eat for free, why would you work all day?¡± The comely woman lightly snorted. ¡°You call this working? You should have seen my last job. Before I got promoted I was working as a seamstress. You can¡¯t imagine how many times I poked myself with those damn needles.¡± She held out her fingertips, as though showing him the torment that they endured. ¡°You were promoted from a seamstress to a cook?¡± The two tasks didn¡¯t seem to have any correlation. The woman nodded happily. ¡°It¡¯s because I distinguished myself at my last job. After taxes and upkeep are taken into consideration, I take home half of my sales as profit. This is the best job in the third section of the city, and if I do it well, I¡¯ll be promoted to a shop in the second section next.¡±Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Thinking about how much he had just spent on the two sausages, he realized that the woman in front of him was quite wealthy, and all she did was cook meat over a fire all day. ¡°You are doing far better than I had imagined. Thank you for the food, I wish you well.¡± Dante left the stall, munching on the sausages as he paced down the road. Sloria was a far better city than he had imagined. Actually, from what he could see, it might have been the nicest place he had ever been to. Dante began to make his way to the second district, eager to see what it had to offer, when a young boy that couldn¡¯t be more than eight ran up to him and tugged on his shirt. The boy spoke quickly between massive gasps of air, he looked like he was having a panic attack. ¡°Sir, it¡¯s my mother. Please help, she¡¯s been hurt.¡± The boy was rugged and had plain features. Everything about him looked dirty and rough, as though he had been living on the streets. Which didn¡¯t make much sense when children were provided free shelter. He also seemed to be well fed. Dante took another bite out of his sausage. ¡°Your mother is hurt?¡± Tears began to leak out of the boy¡¯s eyes and he began to whimper. ¡°Please sir¡­¡± Dante shrugged. ¡°Let¡¯s be off then.¡± The boy took off at a dead sprint, which he could keep pace with leisurely. They were headed toward the section of Sloria that was closest to the outer wall. That section of the city was the most densely packed residential area to the best of his knowledge. He was still somewhat surprised that he had been targeted. It was probably his appearance, it had been nothing but a burden after it changed. The way he gawked at every new sight in Sloria likely didn¡¯t help his case either. Given his appearance and demeanor, others likely saw him as some sheltered merchant¡¯s son who was taking a stroll in the poorer section of Sloria. Either way, it wasn¡¯t necessarily a bad thing. He could always use a few more coins. This type of mugging setup was pretty common in Alazel, usually used on travelers. Not many people fell for it though. Someone would basically need to be an idiot to not see the ambush coming. That worked out well for the muggers though, it was a good way to assess the competence of a target. They only ran for around a minute before the streets started to become more narrow and less populated. Because the city was roughly circular in shape, the layout was a bit uneven in places, and more than one of the alleys they passed led to a dead end. Dante heightened his senses. Even if he was confident in his ability to escape in any situation, a moment of carelessness could still cost him. The people who set up this trap were quite bold. If they were willing to target random strangers who could potentially be strong combatants, it was likely that they would have a few methods up their sleeves. The boy that was leading him abruptly turned into an alley and Dante halted. To his surprise, the alley didn¡¯t lead to a dead end. It was dark though; a large shadow was cast by the building to the right. He barely made out a figure in the shadows, it looked like a woman who was clutching herself in pain. Those things didn¡¯t make him stop though. It was the fluctuations that covered the alley¡¯s entrance. Those fluctuations were like a shimmering wall that covered every inch of the entrance until they reached the roofs above, and from past experience he knew it was mana. When the boy ran past a gap opened, but he was pretty sure the same wouldn¡¯t happen for him. Whatever skill it was, it was interesting, and something he had never come across. The boy ran to the woman and placed a hand on her in reassurance. ¡°Don¡¯t worry mother, someone came to help.¡± The boy looked up at him, his eyes pleading. ¡°Please hurry sir.¡± The acting was so good that he almost wondered if the boy and his mother were just being used, but that was unlikely. Such a setup would take too much effort to pull off and would also be hard to repeat. Dante ignored the boy and Blinked twice to reach the rooftops above him. He was greeted by the sight of two archers that were close to the edge of the rooftops, one on each side of the alley, and a third person who was standing a short distance away. Dante drew knives, throwing one toward each bowman before controlling them with Manipulate Blade. He didn¡¯t aim to kill, instead taking each archer through a shoulder with the weapons. Thanks to his element of surprise, each weapon found its target. Several groans of pain sounded out as he stepped to the final person, who he assumed to be the person that used the skill on the alley¡¯s entrance. He pulled another knife from his boot as he did so, then smashed the back end of the weapon against the mage¡¯s skull. From the far side of the alley shouts of alarm arose. Clearly there were others, and they had been alerted. The archer on his side of the roof drew a dagger, but he wasn¡¯t too bothered by them. Without a bow or crossbow most ranged fighters couldn¡¯t even activate their skills. The other one did try to pull his bow back, but it was a bit challenging with a knife sticking out of their shoulder. Dante knelt by the mage he had downed, slipping the mage¡¯s glove down to check the Classification. His eyebrows rose upon seeing the symbol on the man¡¯s wrist. It was one he hadn¡¯t come across before. ¡°Elric, he¡¯s up here!¡± Dante ignored the archer¡¯s yell. He was more than just a little tempted to take off his glove and test out the Blood Essence Absorption skill. Dante glanced at the two archers, they were still hesitating. If he used his new skill they would have to die. Not only was his hand too eye catching, but he also didn¡¯t want to draw the attention of the guards by killing someone and leaving survivors. One of the archers on his rooftop shot forward with his dagger, and Dante effortlessly knocked him away. He then leaned over the edge of the roof to check the situation below. The boy and woman were still there, but they were hiding behind the two men that had just shown up. One was large and carrying a two-handed axe, the other lean with narrow eyes. He was holding out a sword. Both of them had their eyes locked on him, their expressions quite ugly. They clearly realized what kind of situation they were in. Dante stepped off the roof, falling to the ground and executing a practiced roll to reduce the impact. The time he spent jumping down from trees was finally showing its worth. He came to a stop directly in front of the two new arrivals and smiled. ¡°Which one of you is Elric?¡± The lean man tightened the grip on his sword, he didn¡¯t seem optimistic. ¡°That¡¯s me.¡± He looked at Elric disdainfully. ¡°And you¡¯re the leader of this little group?¡± Elric nodded, this time far more hesitantly. Dante¡¯s smile widened as he pointed to the ground between them. ¡°Great! All of you empty your pockets and I¡¯ll let you live.¡± He looked up at the two archers on the roof. ¡°Make sure you pick up the fellow I knocked out before you make your way down.¡± They were all reluctant to comply, but seeing the smile that didn¡¯t slip from his face, they began to pile all their belongings into a pile in front of him. Dante watched over the entire process, demanding more no matter how much they gave. He didn¡¯t need their miscellaneous belongings, but it was the principal of the matter. Even the person he knocked out and the boy weren¡¯t spared. By the time Dante stepped out of the alley, he was marginally richer, and the people who tried to mug him were all half clothed. He had taken everything, only leaving enough for them to be decent. The smile on his face disappeared when he walked back out to the populated streets. Thinking back on it, he couldn¡¯t help but think that the way he acted was a bit much. He was toying with different ways to deter people with confidence after his experience with the last caravan, but the cockiness he had just exuded was too different from his regular personality. It felt unnatural and annoying to display. He would need to think it over and try a different method in the future, hopefully in a way that felt more natural. It was also a bit of a shame that he didn¡¯t take the blood of that magic Classification, but there would be plenty of similar opportunities in the future. There was no need to take a risk now and potentially ruin his trip before he finished buying everything he needed. Chapter 92 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 92 After mugging his muggers, Dante made his way to one of the four gates that led to the second section of the city. The line leading up to the gate was relatively short, but occasionally a guard would stop to inspect someone, which would drastically hinder any progress. As he got closer to the front, he found the reason. Those who were let past immediately had cards with various symbols on them for identification. Those that didn¡¯t have the cards were inspected. Which was problematic, because he definitely didn¡¯t have one of them. Guards weren¡¯t hard to deal with though. At worst, they would just cause problems for him to extract a bribe, then he would be let past. A few minutes later he was standing in front of the two lead guards himself. The two of them seemed quite attentive, both well-groomed and their uniforms orderly. They quickly noticed his lack of card. ¡°What is your business in the second section of the city sir?¡± Dante smiled amiably. ¡°I came to Sloria so that I could purchase a few items. From what I¡¯ve heard, they are only available within the second section of the city.¡± One of the guards looked him up and down somewhat skeptically. ¡°Did you bring enough coin? The value of the items in the second section of Sloria can be quite high.¡± Dante took the hint, it was time for the bribe. He rummaged in his pocket theatrically before pulling a back of coins he had looted from his storage. They were mostly copper, so he wouldn¡¯t lose much even if they took the entire bag. As soon as the bag left his pocket and the clinking sound of coins could be heard, the guard nodded and gestured for him to pass. ¡°Enjoy your stay in Sloria.¡± Dante held the bag of coins in his hand awkwardly as he processed the guard¡¯s words. This was a first. The guards were no longer paying any attention to him, so Dante shrugged and stepped through the gate. He only took a single step before he stopped and turned back to a guard that was standing idle. ¡°During my time in Sloria, I¡¯ve often heard mention of the Combatant¡¯s Hall. Do you by chance know where I can find it?¡± The guard pointed to the road on the left just past the gate. ¡°Just keep walking straight until you come to the Vertex Gambling Hall. The sign is huge, and you can¡¯t miss it. The Combatant¡¯s Hall is just past it.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Dante nodded to the guard before continuing down the road on the left. As he started walking down the road, Dante began to compare his surroundings to what he had seen in the third level. The difference between the two was quite noticeable. It basically just came down to the overall wealth and luxury. In the third section of the city, a large majority of the things he had seen were there due to necessity. Whether it was the buildings, the food, the items sold, or the clothing people wore, they were all basic. In the second section, almost none of the buildings looked to have just been thrown together by a Geomancer like the third. Most were constructed from bricks, and it was clear that they put an effort into craftsmanship. For those that wanted to show off their wealth it seemed that wooden structures were the go to. Most of those only had wooden supports, but the most extravagant shops and buildings were created entirely of wood and glass. The buildings themselves weren¡¯t too varied. Almost every single one was a shop, only occasionally would he see a residency or restaurant. By listening in on the conversations of others he found out why, he was currently in the shopping district of the second section of the city. The people were also noticeably different. Other than the workers that came from the third section of the city, they were all dressed at least somewhat fancifully. A small minority also stood out. They seemed to be a class above the rest, and many of them were around his age. All of them carried an air of superiority. The women wore long dresses that looked completely uncomfortable, and the men wore find coats and stiff pants that clearly weren¡¯t meant for combat. Those people were also easily identified by the contingent of guards that surrounded them. Dante continued to walk down the street for around thirty minutes before he finally came across the Vertex Gambling Hall. As the guard said, he couldn¡¯t miss it. Where the shopping district ended, a new district began. It was vast and open, without any real roads to speak of. The only thing that separated the monstrously large buildings were the occasional vendors that sold various food items to those that were passing by. And the first of those monstrous buildings was the Vertex Gambling Hall. The multileveled building, which was roughly the same size and shape as the arenas that were at the academy, had a massive purple sign hanging over the large front opening to help him identify it. People were streaming both in and out, almost all of them seemed to be the wealthier citizens of Sloria. He was definitely interested in the Vertex Gambling Hall, but for the time being decided to ignore it. The guard had said that the Combatant¡¯s Hall was just past the gambling hall. Dante walked past the Vertex Gambling Hall. The next building in his path was nowhere near as eye catching. It was large, even larger than the gambling hall, but still only one story. It actually seemed a bit awkward because of that. It was similar to the gambling hall in shape though, roughly circular.Stolen novel; please report. As Dante got closer and was able to clearly make out the sign, he could be sure it was the Combatant¡¯s Hall. There was a large main entrance with a short line protruding from it. He stepped forward and joined it. As he neared the Combatant¡¯s Hall he realized that it wasn¡¯t actually a building. It was actually an open aired pit. He could barely see through the entrance at the back of the line but the open aired arena was clearly visible. Reexamining the buildings that surrounded the pit in a new light, he realized that they were viewing booths that sat atop the arena, likely for the rich patrons of the Combatant¡¯s Hall. Dante stepped closer, trying to get a better look at what was at the bottom of the massive pit. From the ground level he was currently standing on to the bottom of the pit, there were roughly one hundred rows of seats for the audience, and the pit floor itself was massive and had several different stages for fighting. There were nine stages in total. Eight of them were relatively average. They were raised about three feet off the ground and were about one hundred feet across each way. In the middle of the eight was a far more extravagant stage though. Not only was it about twice the length and width of the others, but it was surrounded by ornately drawn enchantments that were outlined in etched gold. The entire thing looked quite exorbitant. Fights were taking place on each of the smaller stages, but that center stage was completely empty. Apparently, none of the fights were worthy of taking place on the larger stage. Dante strained his senses to the front of the line, it wasn¡¯t moving and he was eager to step inside. The lead attendant was talking to a man at the front. ¡°I¡¯m afraid there aren¡¯t any more seats available sir.¡± The man at the front of the line crossed his arms, looking quite unhappy. ¡°You¡¯ve already taken my coin, at least let me in so I can stand and watch.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry sir, as soon as a seat is available you will be the next person to enter.¡± At that moment another female attendant stepped forward and whispered into the lead attendant¡¯s ear. The lead attendant smiled to the man at the front of the line and gestured to the female attendant who had just approached. ¡°A seat has just become available, please follow Samantha. She will lead you to your seat.¡± After ushering away that man, the lead attendant began to placate the next person in line, explaining the situation to them. Dante looked at those in front of him and frowned. At the rate that things were moving, he would be waiting all day to get into the Combatant¡¯s Hall. It didn¡¯t seem to be worth his time, which was unfortunate. He was just about to step out of the line when he noticed a large contingent of guards walking toward the Combatant¡¯s Hall. They were surrounding three girls who were still in their teens. One of them was a clear beauty, she was standing between the two, and the combination of her raven black hair and sculpted features drew the eyes of every male that passed by. She overshadowed the other two, who could only be considered average in comparison. Despite being somewhat plain, neither of them were displeasing to the eye though. One had great curves and didn¡¯t seem to be afraid to show them. The other was thinner, yet had an athletic figure. The guards stepped forward with purpose, and he had a feeling that this group wasn¡¯t going to be hindered by the attendant at the front of the line. They likely already rented one of the viewing booths¡­ That gave him an idea. It was a bad idea, but still an idea. The contingent of guards came nearer and were now walking alongside the line he was in. Just as the first guard was about to reach him, Dante stepped out of the line. He stepped lightly so that he could better control his body, and positioned himself so that he would appear blindsided. Immediately after leaving the line he felt an impact on his side. ¡°Watch yourself!¡± Dante moved with the force of impact, then purposefully stumbled so he fell hard, yet at the same time somewhat elegantly. After falling, Dante began to slowly collect himself on the floor, as though he was unaware of what had just happened. ¡°What happened?¡± The female voice originated from within the group of guards. The guard that bumped into him replied to her. ¡°Some idiot stepped out in front of me and got knocked over. It¡¯s nothing to concern yourself over.¡± There was a slight pause as the guard turned to face him. ¡°Get out of the way. You¡¯re obstructing the lady.¡± The guard was botching his introduction, but things were still going according to plan. Dante stood, making it look like it took him a bit of effort to do so. Then he looked at the three women that were behind the guards with a self-deprecating smile. ¡°I¡¯m terribly sorry. This just doesn¡¯t seem to be my day.¡± The desired effect was earned. Of the three, the curvy and athletic girls¡¯ eyes widened. And even though there wasn¡¯t much of a visible change on the beautiful one¡¯s face, he could still see her pupils dilate. His ridiculous appearance might actually be useful for once. A trace of a smile could be seen on all three of their faces, and the curvier one was the first to speak. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be sorry about. If anything, we should be apologizing to you.¡± The athletic looking girl nodded seriously. ¡°Indeed, our guard was just careless.¡± The guard that bumped into him could only smile bitterly off to the side. Dante looked at the guard apologetically. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t been careless, this wouldn¡¯t have happened.¡± Judging by the look the guard gave him, he wholeheartedly agreed. Dante let out a sigh. ¡°It¡¯s just one thing after another today.¡± The beautiful girl looked at him curiously. ¡°What happened?¡± Dante scratched the back of his head as though embarrassed. ¡°I flew into Sloria earlier today to complete some shopping, and shortly after that, heard talk of the Combatant¡¯s Hall. Apparently, a remarkable combatant will be fighting today. I was going to immediately make my way over here, but was ambushed by a group of muggers.¡± The athletic looking girl gasped, but the beautiful one¡¯s eyes furrowed. ¡°You were mugged in broad daylight?¡± Dante acted slightly flustered. ¡°Not exactly.¡± He cleared his throat. ¡°I was tricked by a child. The boy told me his mother was hurt and needed help. He led me to an isolated alley.¡± The curvier one lightly snorted, but not rudely. ¡°You fell for that? It¡¯s the oldest trick in the book.¡± The athletic looking girl shot her a glare. ¡°I think it just shows that he has impeccable character.¡± Dante looked at her gratefully. ¡°I did think that it was quite suspicious, but decided to go anyway despite the possible risk.¡± That was true enough. Now it was time for the tactful approach. ¡°And to make matters worse, the Combatant¡¯s Hall was completely full by the time I made my way down here.¡± The athletic looking girl turned back to the beautiful one. ¡°We should bring him with us, there is plenty of room in the booth.¡± It seemed that he had an ally. The beautiful girl looked like she was seriously thinking about it, then she smiled and nodded. ¡°Sure, maybe he can keep Arron at bay.¡± Dante shook his head. ¡°I couldn¡¯t possibly impose myself upon the three of you. We¡¯ve only just met.¡± The beautiful girl stepped forward. ¡°Nonsense. You would only add to the company we are meeting. My name is Elizabeth.¡± Elizabeth pointed toward the athletic girl. ¡°This is Leah.¡± She then gestured to the curvier girl. ¡°And Candice.¡± Never, in his wildest dreams, did he think that this would work. ¡°If you really wouldn¡¯t mind, I suppose it would be fine.¡± He still sounded uncertain, but the three girls stepped closer to him and the three of them walked toward the Combatant¡¯s Hall. Chapter 93 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 93 ¡°Look over there! It¡¯s Captain Kamren of the third legion.¡± Dante¡¯s eyes followed the path of Leah¡¯s pointed finger into a viewing booth. The man she was indicating was middle aged with a rather imperious air. He very much looked the part of a captain. Leah¡¯s arm swiveled as she pointed at a new target, this one was in the hall they were walking down. The youth was around their age and surrounded by a contingent of guards that was only slightly smaller than their own. ¡°That is Greggory Arnost. His father leads the Purple Falcons, one of the largest mercenary groups stationed in the valley.¡± Leah¡¯s arm moved again. ¡°And that¡¯s-¡± ¡°Leah. Be quiet.¡± Candice rolled her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re babbling again.¡± Leah glanced at him in embarrassment, her face flushing a deep shade of red. ¡°Sorry¡­¡± Dante waved a hand dismissively. ¡°There¡¯s no need to apologize. The information really is valuable.¡± Leah had already pointed out over a dozen prominent figures, and truthfully, it was a bit much. Hearing his response, Candice rolled her eyes a second time. ¡°You said that Captain Kamren was a part of the third legion? I thought that Sloria only had mercenary groups.¡± Elizabeth answered his question. ¡°That was the case initially. But shortly after Sloria was founded, it became increasingly obvious that there was a need for a consolidated power. Five legions were formed, and they are only answerable to the first lady or city lords.¡± The creation of a consolidated power would have helped equalize the influence of the city lords, he wondered what would have led them to such a decision. ¡°I still have a hard time believing that a city like Sloria could exist in the wastelands.¡± Elizabeth lightly snorted. ¡°Creating Sloria wasn¡¯t hard, maintaining it is an insurmountable challenge.¡± Dante¡¯s head tilted slightly. ¡°Are there that many issues?¡± ¡°More than you can imagine.¡± Their group stopped moving outside one of the larger viewing booths. This one had a door for privacy, which was rare. The guards that were following them lined up outside, joining the other guards that were already there. It seemed that whoever they were meeting was also of a high status. Elizabeth opened the door and stepped through. He, Candice, and Leah followed closely behind her. From their brief interaction thus far, he had already come to understand that Elizabeth was the leader of the group. The viewing booth was like all the others. A decent-sized open room that had a rail on the far side instead of a wall. It allowed everything in the pit below to be easily seen, even though it didn¡¯t offer much in the way of privacy. There were four others in the room, all of them looked to be in their late teens. Two of them, a boy and girl, were off to the side chatting. They completely ignored their group¡¯s entrance, and judging by the way they were interacting, were a couple. Other than those two, there were two other males. One had black hair and refined features, the other had dark blonde curls and a rough face that spoke of violence. They both turned to Elizabeth with a smile on their faces, but the dark blonde¡¯s smile tightened when he saw who was following behind her. The boy with the dark blonde curls locked eyes with him. ¡°It¡¯s bad enough that you let those two line-drawers follow you around, but must you also pick up every piece of trash that you come across?¡± Dante noted that he was drastically underdressed for his current company. Even Candice and Leah could be considered underdressed, even though only slightly. The others in the room were wearing clothes that even Melisandre would consider to be up to standard. He was also surprised by how Leah and Candice took his insult, or at least what he thought was an insult. The two of them just looked away awkwardly. Elizabeth glared at him. ¡°Feeling a bit insecure? Who I chose to be friends with doesn¡¯t have anything to do with you, Arron.¡± Arron snorted disdainfully and turned to lean over the rail so that he could watch the fights taking place below. Elizabeth gestured to the black-haired man. ¡°This is my brother, Cade. Cade, this is Dante.¡± After Elizabeth mentioned that they were related, he realized that they truly did resemble each other. Cade stepped forward with a smile and shook his hand eagerly. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you.¡± Dante returned the smile. ¡°Likewise.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve already had the distinct pleasure of meeting Arron.¡± Elizabeth then pointed to the other two that were in the room. ¡°That¡¯s Cassius and his girlfriend Kara.¡± Cassius and Kara looked up momentarily to nod in greeting before they resumed their private chat. Elizabeth stepped toward the railing so that she could watch the fights below. ¡°Has Ferris already started fighting?¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Cade shook his head. ¡°No, but he seems eager. Now that you¡¯ve arrived, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be stepping onto a stage soon.¡± Dante moved to where Leah and Candice were standing by the rail, they were somewhat removed from the others in the room, but still close to Elizabeth. ¡°Do you guys know Ferris?¡± Candice nodded. ¡°Elizabeth does. She, Cade, Ferris, Arron, and Cassius are all children of the city lords, so they try and maintain a decent relationship between themselves.¡± Leah whispered into his ear conspiratorially. ¡°Elizabeth and Ferris have a very decent relationship.¡± Dante¡¯s eyebrows raised slightly. He didn¡¯t think that he would be in a room with such important people. Also, Arron¡¯s initial reaction no longer made much sense. He had thought that Arron was jealous, but if Elizabeth was already with Ferris, Arron shouldn¡¯t have reacted like that. ¡°There he is!¡± Dante cast a sideways glance at Elizabeth. She seemed both excited and nervous, and he could see her knuckles turn white as her grip on the rail tightened. He followed her gaze down to the arena where a single figure was stepping on the stage to challenge another fighter. He could see why Ferris was so popular. Something about the way he carried himself seemed so imposing, yet elegant at the same time. Ferris was looking up in their direction and smiled, likely at Elizabeth, and off to the side he could see Arron frown. It seemed like there was a love rivalry, probably an unwanted one from the looks of things. Dante turned back at Leah and Candice. ¡°What are the rules for the Combatant¡¯s Hall?¡± Candice shrugged. ¡°There aren¡¯t many. Step on the stage to fight. Lose when you are knocked off the stage, concede, or are unable to continue.¡± That was an interesting change from the academy¡¯s arena. Logically speaking, the easiest way to handle an opponent would be to knock them off the stage. ¡°Anyone can just step onto a stage?¡± ¡°As long as you are registered and there aren¡¯t already two combatants on the stage.¡± This Combatant¡¯s Hall was interesting indeed. ¡°Are there any rules against killing your opponent?¡± ¡°Yes, the punishment for killing in a regular fight is death or crippling depending on the intent of the killer.¡± Leah cast a glance in Arron¡¯s direction. ¡°Of course, there has been an exception.¡± Seeing his expression, Candice explained. ¡°Arron broke that rule some time ago. It caused quite the commotion. By the time things finally settled, he was flogged publicly and banned from fighting in the Combatant¡¯s Hall.¡± It was strange that public flogging and a ban seemed like a harsh punishment for killing in a fight. But that was probably because of his past experience at the academy. The punishment for killing there was only a three-day ban. On the stage below, Ferris started fighting. He was up against some kind of close combat fighter. That fighter ran forward and Ferris merely held up his hand. From his palm, fluttering black objects that looked like butterflies flew toward his opponent. The butterflies swarmed his attacker, completely covering him for several seconds before vanishing. When they finally disappeared, Ferris¡¯ opponent was already knocked unconscious. It was quite the performance. ¡°You seem pretty interested in the Combatant¡¯s Hall, are thinking about fighting yourself?¡± Leah said the words teasingly, as though the idea of him actually fighting was ridiculous. Dante shrugged. ¡°I might try it out. I don¡¯t really see the point though. What do fighters get if they win?¡± Both Candice and Leah seemed genuinely surprised by his answer. Apparently, he didn¡¯t look like much of a fighter. Candice spoke. ¡°Fighters are given a small percentage of the hall¡¯s profits from the betting, should they win.¡± Leah waved her off. ¡°That¡¯s not important.¡± She looked at him seriously. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t try to fight on stage. Killing may be prohibited, but serious injuries are still frequent. More than one person who tried their luck has been permanently disabled.¡± Below them, another fighter stepped up on the stage to fight Ferris. This time it was a magic Classification. Ferris¡¯ butterflies seemed to eat through his opponent¡¯s mana shield, and other than that, it was a repeat performance. It was almost funny how genuinely worried Leah seemed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Even if I can¡¯t win, I¡¯m confident in my ability to avoid being injured.¡± Leah didn¡¯t seem so sure, and was about to say something when Arron snorted disdainfully. ¡°Nothing but empty words. Every fighter down there is a hardened mercenary. If you stepped on one of the stages you wouldn¡¯t last more than five seconds.¡± Apparently, he was listening in on their conversation. He couldn¡¯t help but think that Arron was a moron for just baselessly assuming that someone was weak. That was a great way to get yourself killed. Leah glared at Arron. ¡°At least he can fight in the Combatant¡¯s Hall.¡± Leah froze, as if just realizing who she had just spoken to. Thankfully, Arron didn¡¯t seem too upset by her words. He merely smiled coldly. ¡°I¡¯m not banned from all nine stages.¡± As the sound of his voice faded, he looked back to the fights that were occurring below, completely ignoring them. That reminded him of a rather important detail that he had neglected thus far. ¡°What is the stage in the middle for?¡± The large stage that was surrounded by enchantments and ornately etched with gold still hadn¡¯t been used. Candice answered. ¡°Sometimes it¡¯s used for events or preplanned matches. Most of the time, it¡¯s used for deathmatches.¡± That sounded absolutely delightful. ¡°What does the enchantment do?¡± Leah looked at the enchantment disdainfully. ¡°Originally, master just created a common barrier enchantment. But because someone wanted to use the enchantment as a decoration, they had another enchanter come in and add extra lines.¡± That certainly caught his attention. ¡°Your master is an enchanter?¡± A deafening roar rocked the stadium. Ferris had just blasted an opponent that he was fighting equally with off the stage. Leah nodded with a hint of pride. ¡°Our master is actually the best enchanter in Sloria. Candice, Elizabeth, and I are her only apprentices.¡± It was interesting that Elizabeth, as the daughter of a city lord, focused on a noncombat Classification. Dante smiled. ¡°The three of you are quite impressive. I¡¯ve always had an interest in enchanting. It¡¯s unfortunate that I didn¡¯t receive the Enchanter Classification.¡± Candice looked between the two of them and smirked. ¡°It¡¯s not that impressive. Even though Leah has high attainments in enchanting, Elizabeth and I could only be thought of as beginners.¡± I tinge of red spread across Leah¡¯s cheeks, the reason for Candice¡¯s offhanded compliment was obvious. She was trying to raise his opinion of Leah. ¡°I¡¯m not that good.¡± She looked at him seriously. ¡°If you¡¯re interested in enchanting, you should stop by the Enchanter''s Hall tomorrow. Even if you can¡¯t pick it up as a profession, you could still benefit from learning the basics.¡± Dante thought it over for a moment. He really did need to learn enchanting, but he was pretty sure Leah only invited him over because she was interested in him. It would be a bit much to lead her on so that he could learn enchanting and then disappear two days later. ¡°I would love to learn the basics, but I¡¯ll only be in Sloria for three days. Would we have enough time for me to pick up on a few things?¡± As he expected, Leah¡¯s excitement was visibly deflated, she still smiled though. ¡°Of course! Even just one hour could be of benefit to you.¡± Dante nodded gratefully. ¡°I¡¯ll have to rely on you then.¡± Chapter 94 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 94 After spending another two hours in the viewing booth with Leah and Candice, Dante said his goodbyes with the intention of meeting the following morning. By the time he left, the day was pretty much spent, so he decided to use the last few hours of sunlight to peruse the second section of the city and find an inn to stay at. He had already walked through the small Shopping District when he first entered the second section of the city, so Dante continued through the ¡®Hall District¡¯ that he was currently in. Every building was massive, and seemed to have some distinct purpose that served the centralized power within Sloria. Several of the massive signs that designated a building¡¯s purpose caught his attention. Among them were the Artificer¡¯s Hall, Merchant¡¯s Hall, Marshal Hall, and Alchemist¡¯s Hall. There were others as well, but they all seemed to fulfill far more minor tasks. The Alchemist¡¯s, Enchanter¡¯s, and Artificer¡¯s Halls were exactly what they sounded like. Areas where Alchemists, Enchanters, and Artificers could go to work or sell, mostly fulfilling jobs that the city had need of. All of the materials for those jobs were provided, and ample compensation was given for the harder tasks. After stepping into the Alchemist¡¯s Hall, he was immediately aware of the fact that he had zero chance of completing even the basic and tedious tasks posted. The Marshal Hall was basically a recruitment and training center. Combatants, or others with a useful Classification, could go there to try and join Sloria¡¯s legions. It was surprisingly crowded, and judging by the somber expression of those exiting the hall, the requirements were quite high. The Merchant¡¯s Hall was also quite unique. Unlike the other halls, it was more of a service center. Basically, if someone was looking for a rare item, their best chance of finding it would be there. Not only that, but they would also purchase rare items outright or find buyers for clients. Based the information he could pick up, they also had a branch in the third section of the city. That branch handled the purchasing and distribution of common goods, mostly food. They were the ones that fed the citizens in the third section of the city. The Merchant¡¯s Hall also had another building next to it, an Auction Hall. It was closed though, only open once a week unless there an exceedingly valuable item that needed to be sold off immediately. After leaving the Hall District, Dante stepped into what could only be described as the barracks of Sloria. A massive section of the city was completely cut off so that the legions could be housed and trained. He could only see a small portion, as he was only allowed to walk through on a sectioned off pathway, but he could still estimate each of the five legion¡¯s numbers at around one hundred thousand per legion. The next district was the one he had originally set off to find. It was something of a Leisure District, containing brothels, inns, restaurants, and even spas. It was quite small, by far the smallest district he had been in, but it wasn¡¯t hard to find a suitable inn to stay at. After paying for a room, Dante continued through the city. There was only one other district before the Shopping District that he had initially walked through. A Residential District. The Residential District was clearly a class above the residential areas in the third section of the city. It was the lack of clutter. It was almost as spacious as the Hall District. Some of the manors took up massive swaths of land and were heavily guarded with their own walls. Judging by the matching mercenary bands on their arms, he could be quite sure that those manors belonged to the leaders of the groups stationed in the valley. There were also smaller houses, likely owned by rich merchants or important officials or workers. The district was interesting, but not overly so. After looking around briefly, Dante returned to the inn and retired for the night.
The next morning, Dante went to the Enchanter¡¯s Hall at first light. He was excited to learn about enchanting, but had no intention of spending the entire day doing so. Sloria had too much to offer, and there would always be time to learn enchanting in the future. It was probable that there was even an enchanter in Warlord Vidal¡¯s army that he could learn from. He was interested in the Combatant¡¯s Hall though. Since he had so much free time, it would be a relatively safe way to earn more gold before he really got down to business. There was no telling what the Merchant¡¯s Hall would have to offer in the way of treasures, but he knew that he didn¡¯t have enough money to buy anything of real value. It was rare to even find a silver coin on the bodies he looted hunting caravans, much less any gold. The Enchanter¡¯s Hall was pretty much the same as the other halls ¨C large. The building was massive, it looked like a giant stadium from the outside, but nowhere near as busy as some of the other halls. It was located close to the Artificer¡¯s Hall, and in between the two was the smaller Smith¡¯s Hall. The relation between the three was pretty much self-explanatory. The first thing he noticed upon stepping inside the Enchanter¡¯s Hall was the variety of weapons and armor created with different metals and unique enchantments that were set out for viewing. The walls on each side of the main room were lined with them, and there were buyers walking up and down the wall as they inspected them. The enchantments seemed to be clearly divided, and most of them were tier two enchantments. There was a section of the room that had a small number of tier three weapons, but no tier three armor. From the looks of things, such armor was either hard to make or in higher demand. Dante stepped past the small crowd of people that were just aimlessly wandering around and caught the attention of a middle-aged man that had an Enchanter¡¯s Hall uniform on. ¡°Excuse me sir, could you help me?¡± The worker turned to face him. ¡°Of course, feel free to ask me about anything that catches your eye. And if you are looking for something more specific, it would be a small matter to have it commissioned.¡± Dante shook his head, as if dismissing the notion. ¡°I¡¯m not here to buy anything. I was supposed to meet with Leah this morning, do you know where I can find her?¡± The worker looked somewhat surprised. ¡°Master Stallos¡¯ apprentice?¡± Dante nodded. He actually wasn¡¯t sure who her master was, but he doubted that there would be more than one Leah apprenticed to a master Enchanter. The worker pointed to a staircase near the back of the main room. ¡°If she¡¯s in, you can usually find her working on the third floor. I would try there first.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Dante stepped up the staircase and found himself on the second level. Unlike the first, this one was filled with actual Enchanters, and many of them were working at their own workstations. He only paused to look momentarily before making his way to the staircase that led to the third floor. Upon stepping onto the third floor, he was pleasantly surprised to see that Candice and Leah were already together. But that pleasant feeling was destroyed when he saw Arron standing next to the two of them with his arms crossed. He had only met Arron briefly, and thus far, he didn¡¯t have a high opinion of him. Dante still plastered an amiable smile on his face as he stepped forward. ¡°Hey Leah.¡± ¡°You came!¡± Leah ran up and embraced him in a brief hug, which caught him more than a little off guard. He still went along with it though. After breaking off from Leah, Dante nodded to Candice. ¡°Good morning.¡± Candice looked between the two of them and smirked meaningfully. ¡°Morning.¡± Seeing Candice¡¯s smirk, Dante had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. His gaze roamed past Arron before coming to a stop on the table that the three of them had been standing around. There was a strange looking trident on it, created of a golden colored alloy that had swirls of silver mixed in. And off to the side were several piles of different types of powder. From what he knew of enchanting, the piles should at least partially be made of ground down Chaos stone. ¡°Are you making something?¡± Before anyone else could answer, Arron cut in with a disgruntled tone. ¡°We were making something.¡± Dante looked at Arron in amazement. ¡°¡¯We?¡¯ I didn¡¯t know you were also an enchanter.¡± Arron¡¯s eyes narrowed in annoyance, then he looked at Leah, completely ignoring Dante. ¡°What is he doing here?¡± Leah frowned. ¡°Dante was interested in enchantments, so I invited him over to watch us work.¡± Candice pointed to one of the chairs that was located by the far wall. ¡°Speaking of which, stop bothering us so that Leah can actually get started.¡± Arron looked between the three of them with narrowed eyes. ¡°Fine.¡± Then, without another word, he moved off to the side like Candice asked. Candice looked at Dante and snorted. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he just acts tough.¡± He was surprised that Candice didn¡¯t bother to lower her voice, and a momentary glance at Arron confirmed that he had heard what she said. He was glaring daggers at her. Dante looked back at Leah. ¡°So¡­¡± ¡°Oh! Come over here.¡± She gestured to the table. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing you came early. Arron wanted a tier three enchantment on his newly crafted weapon.¡± It actually was a good opportunity. He had seen Victoria create a few tier two and three pills, and the process was much more involved than the tier one pills he made. It made him wonder if enchantments had a similar increase in difficulty. ¡°What kind of enchantment?¡± Leah picked up the trident and carefully studied it as she answered somewhat absentmindedly. ¡°It¡¯s one I created, the base is a force rune.¡± Dante looked at her somewhat awkwardly. ¡°Could you explain that in layman terms?¡± Leah looked away from the weapon and smiled at him. ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s a habit. Runes are basically just tier one enchantments, they are compact and basic, the embodiment of what they represent. Watch carefully.¡± Leah held out her hand and a blue glow of mana surrounded it. She then dipped her fingers into one of the piles of powder, the darkest of them. As soon as the mana touched the powder it was absorbed. She withdrew her hand, and the powder that absorbed the mana came with it. It almost looked like there was a ball of liquid that was resisting gravity stuck to the tip of her finger. She carefully moved her hand to the trident and began drawing on the shaft with precision. She finished after drawing half a dozen compact lines, creating something that almost looked like a claw. Leah flicked her hand, releasing the mana and throwing the leftover substance to the side. ¡°This is a tier one enchantment, and the rune for force. If I was just going to leave it like this, the placement wouldn¡¯t matter too much, but it would still effect the enchantment¡¯s efficiency. Since I will be creating a tier three enchantment, the placement is incredibly important.¡± Dante looked at where she drew the rune on the trident¡¯s shaft. The placement seemed random, as it wasn¡¯t at the midpoint, but about four inches below the three-pronged head. ¡°How do you know where to place the enchantment?¡± Leah shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not really sure. It¡¯s just a feeling I get when I envision the enchantment and study the weapon. It comes from my Classification.¡± That wasn¡¯t helpful. He may need to find an enchanter who didn¡¯t have the Classification to teach him a few tricks, similar to how Victoria taught him alchemy despite not being an Alchemist. Leah shrouded her hand in mana and dipped it into the second pile of powder. ¡°Tier one enchantments are all the same, there are no deviations. Tier two enchantments are where the deviations begin. Force, for instance, can be adjusted in a multitude of ways. I¡¯ve developed this second tier enchantment for penetration.¡± Leah¡¯s eyebrows narrowed in concentration as she began to retrace and extend each of the lines she had previously drawn one by one. The base lines she had drawn for the force rune were jagged and rough, but every extension she added had a flourish. The lines almost looked feminine where the force rune was masculine. When done, Leah held out the trident. ¡°Now, the enchantment is of the second tier. Its power has qualitatively increased, and the amount of world essence needed to power it has also drastically increased as well.¡± She spun the trident in her hand so the three-pronged head was facing the floor, then she rested the head against the table and activated the enchantment. The trident quickly sank into the wood as though of its own volition.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Leah stopped the enchantment and pulled it out of the wood. ¡°This penetration enchantment is one of many ways that a force rune can be advanced. I created it with the help of my master. In the second tier, the deviations are still somewhat limited.¡± Leah dipped her hand in a new pile of powder and her eyes narrowed as she began to retrace some of the enchantment¡¯s lines. Her progress was far slower than earlier, and beads of sweat began to form on her brow as time went on. Unlike the tier two enchantment, she didn¡¯t retrace all the lines, just some of them. And the way she extended those lines was through the trident¡¯s left spear tip, not even touching the other two. When she was done, the left tip was completely covered in enchantment lines. Leah held the trident aloft and inspected it as she let out a deep breath. She then reached toward another pile of powder. She repeated the same process, this time the lines she extended exclusively went to the middle spear tip. After finishing with the middle spear tip, she grabbed a new powder and did the final spear tip. By the time Leah finished with the third, her brow was drenched with sweat and her face was completely pale. Dante had held back his questions throughout the entire process, but now that Leah was done, couldn¡¯t hold back any longer. ¡°Why do you use different powders like that?¡± Leah gestured toward the powders that she had used. ¡°The powder for the tier one enchantment has the highest density of Chaos stone in it at around 80%. It helps the world essence that powers the enchantment run through the first tier enchantment before moving on to the others.¡± She pointed to the second powder that she used. ¡°The second powder has around 70% Chaos stone density, but also an added substance called chenor. Chenor aids in the overall speed of the world essence when transferring through the lines, but at the cost of decreased enchantment strength.¡± ¡°Why would you add chenor if it decreases the strength of the enchantment?¡± Leah motioned to the trident. ¡°Usually, I wouldn¡¯t. But for this specific enchantment, it will provide an increase in overall ability. The chenor will lower the activation time of the enchantment, which is important in this case.¡± Leah looked at the three other powders on the table that she used for the tier three enchantment. ¡°These are all around 50% Chaos stone density, and have a mixture of chenor as well as a composite of either alcryx, egrian, or etril.¡± Dante gave her a look of bewilderment. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Oh, right.¡± Leah looked slightly embarrassed. ¡°Alcryx, egrian, and etril are minerals that world essence can naturally be channeled through, but they are mutually exclusive when activated near each other. Meaning you can activate each of three by themselves, but not two at the same time. It stops the world essence from accidentally leaking. Give me a second to finish this and I¡¯ll show you.¡± Leah dipped her hand into one of the two powders she hadn¡¯t yet used. She drew a single line down the shaft in a way that seemed decorative. Then, she flicked her hand to remove that powder and grabbed the last powder. She began to add to the previous lines, many of them with exaggerated flourishes. They extended all the way down the shaft and filled the places that were previously empty. It gave the trident a more ¡®complete¡¯ look. He was lost again. ¡°Why did you do that?¡± Leah looked at the trident with a hint of dissatisfaction. ¡°That line I added is for activation. It stretches down the length of the shaft so that world essence can be easily channeled. The other lines are just decoration. I¡¯d rather not add them, but every enchanter does it. If I didn¡¯t, the buyer would think that something is wrong and only pay me a fraction of what the enchantment is worth.¡± Leah seemed to be something of a purist when it came to enchantments. That same dissatisfied look was on her face when she explained that the enchantment in the Combatant¡¯s Hall was changed so it could be used as a decoration. Leah held the trident out for him to hold, a proud smile on her face. ¡°Try it out. Just force your world essence into whichever spear tip you want to activate.¡± Dante grabbed the trident and began filling it with world essence. As a tier three enchantment, it couldn¡¯t be immediately activated and instead needed a few seconds to gather. After it was filled, he channeled the world essence into the middle spear tip. A blade manifested from blue light shot a foot away from the spear tip before disappearing. Dante could barely believe his eyes. It was an attack. Even better than most skills. He continued to feed world essence into the trident and experiment with it. If his concentration was fully focused, he could activate one of the spear tips every five seconds or so. Dante stepped closer to the table, Leah didn¡¯t have any qualms about stabbing it earlier, so he wanted to try it out. He activated one of the spear tips, and the ethereal blade that shot out easily sliced through the wood table with no resistance. Dante looked back at Leah with a completely serious expression. ¡°This is amazing.¡± A tinge of red rushed into Leah¡¯s cheeks. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have been able to make it without my master¡¯s help.¡± Dante looked at the trident in his hands. After seeing the enchantment being created from beginning to end, it was obvious that the force rune was the focal point. ¡°So, could anyone create a tier one enchantment by just using runes?¡± Leah nodded. ¡°With a bit of practice they can. If you mean those without an Enchanter Classification, the placement of the enchantment itself can still be problematic. If it is done too erroneously, it could damage the integrity of the weapon and cause issues in the middle of a fight.¡± In other words, he would need to do a lot of testing. ¡°What about tier two enchantments and above? Couldn¡¯t I just copy your enchantment?¡± To the side, Candice snorted. ¡°If it was that easy, everyone would be a master enchanter.¡± Dante¡¯s eyebrows furrowed as he looked at Leah. Leah explained it to him. ¡°Someone¡¯s ability in enchanting comes down to their comprehension. Runes don¡¯t matter, because they are the direct embodiment of what they represent, but other enchantments are created with the help of the Enchanter¡¯s will. So, without completely understanding an enchantment, recreating it would be impossible.¡± Dante thought back to the suave shopkeeper in Desas that he bought his weapons from. That shopkeeper¡¯s attainments in enchanting might have been far greater than he originally thought. ¡°Of course, the way an Enchanter specializes can make comprehending enchantments easier. And having the help of a Master Enchanter with higher attainments in enchanting will drastically speed things up as well. Few Enchanters actually make their own enchantments.¡± He was still having trouble understanding why anyone would want to create their own enchantments. ¡°Why would you create your own enchantment if learning someone else¡¯s is easier?¡± Leah shrugged. ¡°You can never fully comprehend someone else¡¯s will, even with their help. So copying someone else¡¯s enchantment will only lead to a subpar result. Only by making your own can the full effects be shown.¡± Leah paused, then spoke in afterthought. ¡°Also, the process of creating your own enchantment will deepen your understanding of enchanting in general. True masters always make their own enchantments and only use other¡¯s when they have to.¡± There was far more to enchanting than he had originally thought. ¡°So, if I wanted to learn a tier two enchantment, how would I go about doing that?¡± Both Leah and Candice furrowed their brows. Candice then spoke. ¡°It would be challenging. You would need to fully comprehend a rune, then develop a second tier enchantment without the help of others. Every tier after that would also rely on your comprehension.¡± That didn¡¯t sound challenging, but impossible. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t someone else be able to teach me?¡± Leah answered. ¡°The ability to comprehend the will of other¡¯s by studying their enchantments is something unique to the Enchanter Classification. Without the aid of that, we could only give you some basic advice.¡± That didn¡¯t make much sense at all. But the same could be said for almost everything he had learned about enchanting thus far. He did get enough information to start though. Tier one enchantments shouldn¡¯t give him too many problems with enough practice. At that moment, Arron walked up and held out his hand for the trident. Dante handed it over, and right after he did, Arron completely ignored him and looked at Candice and Leah instead. ¡°Where is Elizabeth?¡± Candice answered. ¡°Training with master. I¡¯m not sure when they will be done.¡± Arron nodded, then walked back to where he was sitting previously. It seemed that he was content to wait. Dante looked between Candice and Leah. ¡°Is he always like that?¡± Arron was behaving like a stalker. Candice shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s not that simple.¡± He was still a bit skeptical, but had no intention of tangling with Arron over something so trivial. Dante looked at Leah. ¡°What runes can I use for tier one enchantments.¡± Leah snapped her fingers. ¡°Oh! I almost forgot.¡± She hurried across the room and pulled a large handmade book out of a drawer before returning. ¡°Master gave us a book of all the runes she knows. You can use whichever ones you like, but only a few of them will create enchantments that have a function.¡± Dante gratefully took the book from Leah. ¡°Based on what you said, I should just choose one rune and focus on it. Would it be easier to make other second tier enchantments after successfully making one second tier enchantment?¡± Leah shook her head. ¡°Unfortunately, no. Your progression on enchanting will be based on your understanding of a given rune. Things might be faster if you work on runes that are similar in nature. But the higher tier your enchantments reach, the more deviation there will be in their nature, and the less your comprehension in one will aid the other.¡± So, pick one rune. Simple enough. Dante opened the book of runes and began to tab through it. Each page had a single rune drawn on it with the runes name over the top. Most of them were simple things. Force, for example, was in there. There were elemental runes, like ice, water, fire, earth, and air. There were emotional type runes, like anger and sadness. And even plant and animal runes. The back of the book had a far more interesting selection though. None of the runes seemed to have any relationship with each other, and more than one of them was a bit ominous. A few of the more eye catching among them were the cruelty, malevolence, and vengeance runes. He even stumbled across a blood rune. He stopped on it for quite a while as he pondered over the possibilities. If his progress on enchanting depended on his comprehension of a rune, that might be the best choice. He wasn¡¯t sure how that rune would help him in combat though. Dante looked up from the book. ¡°What type of rune would you recommend if someone wanted to enchant a projectile?¡± Activating the enchantment before shooting his weapons with Manipulate Blade would be problematic, but the same problem would apply to every projectile. Leah had a look of concentration on her face. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I assume you mean the projectile itself, and not the launching mechanism?¡± Dante nodded. ¡°Correct.¡± Leah stepped closer to him and began flipping through the book of runes, finally stopping on a page toward the front. ¡°An impact rune could help. The variations that you can make for each tier are endless, and the impact rune by nature wouldn¡¯t release added world essence until there is an impact on the projectile.¡± That actually sounded like a good choice. ¡°Do you have a piece of paper so that I can copy it down?¡± Leah took off across the room, reopening the drawer the book was in earlier and pulling out a few pieces of paper. ¡°Let me draw them. The lines need to be precise, or the enchantment¡¯s efficiency will deteriorate. If you made a mistake now, it would only cause problems later when you are studying the rune.¡± He had no arguments with that. Leah got placed the piece of paper on her desk, then walked across the room and grabbed a bag of powder. She reached down and dipped her hand in it in preparation to draw. ¡°Let me know which ones you¡¯re interested in. It would be best to take a few, just in case you dislike the effects of the impact rune or other complications arise.¡± He and Leah began to slowly flip through the book as she drew each rune that he found to be of interest. He even had her take down the blood rune. Thankfully, Leah didn¡¯t bat an eye at the strange choice. The two of them were still going through the book ¨C Candice to the side, and Arron sitting across the room ¨C when they all heard a loud commotion coming from the stairway. Around a dozen people stepped into the room. All but two were men, and they all ranged from around his age to their early-twenties. He didn¡¯t give the group more than a passing glance until he saw Leah tense up next to him. That made him reevaluate the group. When he looked up, he saw that Candice was also quite tense, and Arron looked like he was one provocation away from attacking. In contrast, the group that entered looked to be quite at home. All of them looked confident, overly so in fact. That might have just been because of their superior numbers though. All of them were finely dressed, so finely that it was the same caliber of Arron¡¯s clothing. It was highly likely that these people were also quite important. Dante went back to looking through the runes with Leah, whatever was going on, he didn¡¯t want any part in it. One of the younger men in the group stepped forward imposingly. ¡°Girl, where is Elizabeth?¡± Dante glanced up. A very pompous looking man was addressing Candice, who was standing idle. The man¡¯s tone of voice might have been the most pretentious he had ever heard, and his appearance was even more annoying. The word ¡®delicate¡¯ couldn¡¯t begin to describe him. ¡°Elizabeth is having a private lesson with Master Stallos.¡± The man replied in a slightly whiney voice. ¡°Then go and fetch her.¡± By the tone, it was obvious that he thought Candice should have gone without being asked. ¡°Elizabeth busy.¡± Arron spoke from across the room. It was amazing how much of a deterrent the cold look he gave them was. The young man glanced at Arron, then flicked his hand at Candice, indicating that she should do as he said. Dante watched Candice frown and walk away, likely going to find Elizabeth. Her reaction made him wonder what kind of influence these people had. Leah flipped the page to an impulse rune. He didn¡¯t really know what it did, but didn¡¯t see the harm in taking it. He pointed to the rune. ¡°That one.¡± He seemed to have alerted the idiot ordering people around. That young man pointed to Leah. ¡°Aren¡¯t you also one of Master Stallos¡¯ apprentices?¡± Leah nodded meekly. ¡°Yes sir.¡± ¡°Then why have you not done as I have asked?¡± Leah looked slightly confused. ¡°You didn¡¯t ask me-¡± The delicate young man flicked his wrist in Candice¡¯s direction. ¡°Just go.¡± The young man subtly glanced at Arron, as if seeing if Arron saw how much control he had over the room. Leah was actually about to go until he reached out and grabbed her arm to stop her. Dante looked at the idiot. ¡°We¡¯re busy.¡± It had been a while since he met such an ass. The young man¡¯s eyes narrowed in annoyance. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°One of Elizabeth¡¯s friends.¡± In this situation, relying on Elizabeth¡¯s social status was the easiest way to diffuse the situation. Of course, that didn¡¯t seem to be going to well for Leah and Candice. But that was possibly because they were only acquainted from their apprenticeship. The young man looked him up and down, as if truly noticing him for the first time. Apparently, he didn¡¯t like what he saw, as the frown on his face only grew more pronounced as he took note of Dante¡¯s extraordinary appearance. ¡°The idiot is Eric Navos, his father is the leader of the largest mercenary group stationed within the valley. I would suggest you don¡¯t anger him.¡± Arron spoke up from the side of the room. He was acting surprisingly helpful. Unfortunately, Arron¡¯s words only made Eric even more arrogant. Eric was visibly looking down on Leah and him. ¡°I assumed that you have a good reason for impeding me?¡± Dante stared unblinkingly at Eric for several seconds. Then, he subdued his murderous thoughts and decided to play nice. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, if I had known that you were so important, I wouldn¡¯t have dared to.¡± It was unfortunate, but the satisfaction he would get for causing problems with Eric wouldn¡¯t compare to the annoyance the fallout would cause afterwards. Eric snorted, then looked down at the papers that Leah was drawing on. ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°Just a few runes I was looking for.¡± Eric looked at him, then maintained eye contact as he picked up the papers and tore them. Slowly. When he was done, he threw the pieces of paper at the table. ¡°Since I am in such a good mood. I¡¯ll let you off this time.¡± He looked at Leah. ¡°Go fetch.¡± Dante stared at Eric, he was trying to remain calm visibly, but could feel his left eye twitching. He wasn¡¯t sure what he would have done if Elizabeth hadn¡¯t entered the room at that moment. She saw the expressions of those in the room, but didn¡¯t seem surprised. With a sullen expression, she walked over to where Eric was standing. ¡°Let¡¯s go, I haven¡¯t got all day.¡± Eric held out his arm, which Elizabeth reluctantly grabbed hold of. Then the two of them turned to leave, Eric boasting along the way. ¡°Of course. It won¡¯t take all day anyways, after a few rounds, no one will dare challenge me. We will have plenty of time to grab a bite to eat afterwards. I¡¯ve heard the new restaurant by the Triple Hen is delightful¡­¡± Dante turned away from the staircase. Arron and Candice were glaring in Eric¡¯s direction, and Leah was silently redrawing all of the runes he had asked her for earlier. Dante looked Candice. ¡°Why did Elizabeth go with him?¡± Candice had an ugly expression on her face. ¡°Eric¡¯s father has too much influence over the mercenary groups stationed in the valley. If he chose to invade Sloria, things would be over rather quickly. The city lords have been using Elizabeth to stabilize the situation, as Eric is smitten by her.¡± He thought back to Eric¡¯s mention of being challenged. ¡°They are going to the Combatant¡¯s Hall?¡± Surprisingly, Arron answered. ¡°Yes, he likes to show off.¡± A genuine smile spread across Dante¡¯s face. Chapter 95 Dante¡¯s Immortality - Chapter 95 ¡°I really don¡¯t think that this is a good idea.¡± Dante waved Leah off. ¡°I¡¯m sure it will be fine.¡± He reached into his pockets with a smile and pulled the sack of Melisandre''s leftover gold coins from his storage. ¡°No matter what happens, when I fight Eric, use all of the coins to bet on me.¡± Leah and Candice had followed him to the Combatant¡¯s Hall. He didn¡¯t tell them what he was doing, but now that he was registering to fight, his objective was pretty obvious. ¡°I think that you might be underestimating the severity of the situation.¡± Candice was trying to seem nonchalant, but there was obvious concern in her eyes. ¡°If he¡¯s confident, just let him go.¡± Dante¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Why are you even here?¡± Arron shrugged. ¡°There¡¯s not much else to do.¡± Ignoring Arron, Dante reached forward and grabbed his registration badge from the receptionist. The number on it was 7332, and apparently, it was used as identification so people could easily place bets on him. The receptionist pointed toward the stairs that led to the stages below. ¡°Just wear this badge and step onto a stage when you want to fight. It¡¯s recommended you wait a few minutes after stepping on a stage before starting, as it will give the audience more time to place bets and increase the amount you will earn should you win.¡± Dante nodded in thanks, waved goodbye to Leah and Candice, then walked toward the arena floor. Leah and Candice couldn¡¯t follow since they weren¡¯t registered, and Arron couldn¡¯t either since he was banned. As he stepped onto the ground floor, he immediately became aware of the fact that Eric had not yet arrived, despite leaving first. It was likely that Eric was off with Elizabeth somewhere. That was fine though, it would only make things easier. Despite being somewhat angry, his decision to fight Eric in the Combatant¡¯s Hall wasn¡¯t a rash one. It was actually an excellent opportunity. He couldn¡¯t even imagine what kind of odds he would get, and as someone who holds such an important position, Eric¡¯s fights should be the focal point of the crowd¡¯s attention. The potential fallout was a possible issue, but nothing he couldn¡¯t handle. Unless he killed or crippled Eric, which he had no intention of doing, the mere act of showing his guild ring would get him out of any precarious situation. No, he wasn¡¯t going to kill him, he had come to embarrass Eric, and he would do that thoroughly. But first, he needed to build up a reputation. Dante eyed the combatant¡¯s currently fighting. All of the stages - aside from the center stage - had two fighters on them. Most of them weren¡¯t fighting, but waiting for the betting to finish so that they could earn more. Around the perimeter of the ground floor were around one hundred combatants that were leisurely chatting with each other or waiting for a turn. Only a few of them were tense, they were the fighters that fought in the Combatant¡¯s Hall so that they could earn a living. The rest came from different mercenary groups, and the atmosphere around them was far more relaxed. It was as though they just came to kill time before doing something more important later that day. The stage he chose didn¡¯t really matter, so he set his sights on the one directly in front of him. Two people were already fighting, both of them seemed to be relatively evenly matched. They were also both using swords, but despite the similarities, the two had polar opposite fighting styles. The lankier of the two was dashing around his burly opponent, using absurd speed to try and break through his burly opponent¡¯s guard. There were several times when he almost succeeded in doing so, should have done so actually, but his opponent repeatedly activated a skill at the last moment. The skill was similar to one he had seen before, it was an invisible slash that extended from where a sword was swung. It wasn¡¯t the exact same as the one he had previously seen though, and nowhere near as powerful. The mana that shot out from the sword wasn¡¯t in a fine line that could cut through an enemy, but a wide slash with a large area of effect. When the widespread mana hit the opponent, it merely blasted him backward. In normal circumstances the skill would be mediocre at best, but in the Combatant¡¯s Hall it might be one of the best. It only took another thirty seconds before the lankier fighter slowed drastically, likely from using all of his mana on some speed boosting skill. His burly opponent took advantage of the moment, and one sword slash blasted the lanky fighter off the stage.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. As soon as the lankier fighter was knocked off the stage a new fighter with a bow took his place. The two of them then waited for the betting, which also allowed the burly combatant to restore his mana. After a few minutes the two combatants nodded to each other, indicating their intention to start the fight. The archer acted first, drawing back his bow and immediately firing two arrows in rapid succession before leaping to the side and launching a third arrow. It was obvious that he had watched the previous fight carefully, because the third arrow barely dodged the mana that came from his opponent¡¯s sword slash. Dante couldn¡¯t help but be surprised by the archer¡¯s accuracy. He would have been able to do the same, but he could see the mana from coming from the burly combatant¡¯s skill. Without that ability, replicating such a feat would have been difficult. The burly fighter wasn¡¯t easily defeated though, after slashing at the first two arrows he dropped to the floor to avoid the third, then slashed again at the fourth and fifth. Unlike the first fight, the burly fighter didn¡¯t allow the fight to drag on. Instead, he continuously slashed at his opponent, eventually knocking him off the stage. Before anyone else could act, Dante confidentially stepped onto the stage. The burly fighter looked at him warily, studying him as though trying to find a weakness. Ignoring him, Dante looked up at the viewing booths, easily finding the one he had been in the day before. He smiled when he saw Leah and Candice¡¯s anxious expressions, as well as Arron¡¯s indifference. They were the only ones in the booth today, Elizabeth and Eric were somewhere else apparently. A few minutes after he stepped on the stage, the burly fighter nodded, indicating that he was ready. Dante returned the nod, then channeled the world essence in his feet as he dashed forward. He was really hoping this wasn¡¯t going to hurt. As expected, his opponent slashed toward him with his sword as soon as the fight started. The attack was a probing one, meant to feel him out, but Dante still grit his teeth and prepared himself for the impact. The mana from the skill slammed into his chest, knocking the wind out of him as he flew off the stage like a ragdoll and skidded to a stop several feet away. Other than a few curses from those who had taken a chance on him, the others in the audience completely ignored him after he lost the fight, their attention now preoccupied with the other fights taking place. Dante groaned as he picked himself off of the floor and prodded at his chest. Nothing was broken, but it felt like a few ribs had come close to cracking. Building a reputation wasn¡¯t going to be as fun as he thought. A cursory glance at the viewing booths allowed him to see that both Leah and Candice were far more worried, Leah in particular, she was leaning over the rail as if to look and make sure he was still okay. Beside them, Arron looked indifferent, yet slightly disappointed. Acting like nothing was amiss, Dante confidently walked back over to the side as he looked for a new opponent. There were a few standouts that had maintained their position since he had stepped down to the main floor, and he walked closer to their stages to watch. Like that, he spent almost an hour challenging combatants at every opportunity. He was pushed, bashed, flung, and thrown off of the stage dozens of times, not winning a single fight. Not only was it exhausting to make it look like he was trying his hardest to win, but it was also quite painful. The only ¡®skill¡¯ he used was the footwork that the spectral attunement gave him. He had chosen carefully, as it would be the only skill he would use when Eric finally showed up. Using other skills would make the upcoming fight far easier, but he didn¡¯t want anyone to think that he was holding back. That would defeat the entire purpose of getting the shit knocked out of him so he could embarrass Eric later. He did achieve his aim though. His reputation grew rapidly. Every time he stepped on a stage several members of the audience groaned, and more than one opponent tried to maliciously hurt him so that he would stop challenging them. It was hard to imagine how many people were betting against him now. Even if the rates were shockingly low, in the eyes of the audience he was guaranteed to lose. Dante let out a sigh as he identified his next target. The only combatant that was waiting for challengers was a real bastard. In fact, it was someone he had already fought. He was the only person to challenge the mage and walk away without a serious injury, and both times it had been a close call. Just as he began to walk over, Dante heard a loud commotion coming from the entrance to the ground floor. He looked over with more than just a small amount of hope, and was thrilled to see the sight of Eric joking around with four of the friends he had been with earlier. Finally, this torture was over. As soon as Eric stepped onto the ground floor, his eyes scanned over the other combatants, finally coming to a rest when they found Dante. He sneered. ¡°People will say what they will, but none would dare to call you a coward.¡± Apparently, Eric had been watching all of his fights. Dante scratched the back of his head in embarrassed modesty. ¡°Thank you for the complement. I always try my best.¡± Eric snorted disdainfully. ¡°That wasn¡¯t a compliment, you moron. Even I was embarrassed to be briefly associated with you.¡± Eric ignored him and walked to the only stage that had a vacant spot as though their conversation was finished. The stage he stepped onto was the one with the mage that always severely injured his opponents. As soon as the mage saw Eric, he looked more than a little uncertain. In fact, he looked terrified. The mage addressed Eric politely. ¡°My apologies, but I have already participated longer than I intended. I wish you luck.¡± Without even waiting for a reply, the mage rushed off the stage and walked to the ground floor¡¯s exit. Through the entire process, Eric didn¡¯t bat an eyelash. He handled everything like it was to be expected. Eric stood on the stage with his arms crossed confidently over his delicate frame, face tilted upward at the viewing booths as a self-satisfied smile spread across his face. Following Eric¡¯s gaze, Dante saw Elizabeth standing in a viewing booth with almost a dozen others. She didn¡¯t look like she was having a great time. Eric then looked down at the other combatants demeaningly. ¡°Who¡¯s first?¡± Chapter 96 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 96 Dante couldn¡¯t help but think that Eric was a bit much. The way he stood on the stage looking down on everyone didn¡¯t make him look magnificent, if anything, he just looked annoying. Eric did seem to place a great amount of importance on the way others viewed him though. Which would only make this more enjoyable. While the other combatants visibly hesitated after receiving Eric¡¯s challenge, Dante stepped onto the stage. He maintained a calm demeanor and smiled as though he was meeting an old friend. ¡°If no one else wants to, I¡¯d be more than happy to go first. Some of the other competition is tough, so I could use the warmup.¡± There was a brief moment of silence as everyone in the Combatant¡¯s Hall looked at him in disbelief. ¡°Get off the stage!¡± The loud shout from the audience was met by a chorus of muttered agreement. Those people were in the minority though. They were the ones who came to the Combatant¡¯s Hall solely for the enjoyment of watching fights. The rest were running to the gambling booths that were stationed periodically throughout the stadium. Eric gave him a look of incredulity. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious. A fight between us would end in mere moments.¡± Instead of answering directly, Dante looked up at the viewing booth that Leah was in. It was obvious that she was uncertain of what she should do. He gave her a single nod and she quickly disappeared. He was going to be rich. Dante looked back down at Eric and waved a hand dismissively. ¡°Don¡¯t worry so much, I¡¯ll go easy on you.¡± Eric¡¯s eyes bulged as though he couldn¡¯t believe how audacious Dante¡¯s words were, then his face became a mask of anger. ¡°Don¡¯t bother with the fool Eric, I¡¯ll handle him.¡± Of the three that walked into the arena with Eric, the one that looked to be the youngest spoke up. Unlike Eric, there was nothing delicate about him. If anything the violent air surrounding him was similar to Arron¡¯s. Eric glared at the person who spoke before looking back at him. ¡°Do you really think that you even have a chance?¡± Dante gave him a look of bewilderment. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I?¡± Eric jabbed a finger at the combatants that hesitated earlier. ¡°They wouldn¡¯t even step on this stage. Yet the person who couldn¡¯t win a single fight thinks that he is my match? How preposterous.¡± Eric was truly annoying. Dante smiled mockingly, and spoke down to Eric in a way made his voice carry to the crowd. ¡°They don¡¯t want to fight you because they don¡¯t wish to offend your father, not because of your strength. Do you think that everyone would let you win if you didn¡¯t have the backing of someone powerful? Everyone talks about how much of a joke you are.¡± His words, and the implications behind them, were met with snorts of disdain from the audience and several of the other combatants. It was obvious that they thought he was speaking nonsensically. The words struck a chord with Eric though. Even though his words were empty, the slander was something Eric wouldn¡¯t tolerate with the importance he placed on his public image. He was irate, and his calm and confident demeanor disappeared completely as he menacingly stepped forward. Dante forcefully held his hand out. ¡°Hold it.¡± Eric took another step, completely ignoring him while simultaneously spreading mana through the ground at his feet. ¡°There is no way I am letting you go now.¡± Dante ignored Eric¡¯s cold tone as he checked out the situation. A quick glance told him Leah wasn¡¯t back yet. It was possible that she still hadn¡¯t placed his bet. ¡°I would prefer to wait, since my mana hasn¡¯t completely recovered. But if you need to start now so that you¡¯ll have a better chance of winning, I completely understand.¡± Eric froze, the mana currently spreading through the ground halted. He stood like that for several seconds before he grit his teeth and spoke. ¡°Fine, we will wait.¡± While Eric was fuming, Dante nonchalantly stood on the other side of the stage like nothing out of the ordinary was happening. By now, almost every eye in the audience was on their stage, and more than one of the other stages was vacant as the other combatants prepared to watch him get the shit beat out of him by Eric. Leah appeared back in the viewing booth only a few seconds later, and the nod she gave him indicated that she had done as instructed. He still didn¡¯t start the fight though, there might be others that had yet to bet. The way gambling worked in the Combatant¡¯s Hall was interesting to say the least. Unlike most other places, the rates weren¡¯t posted beforehand. Instead, gamblers would go in blindly. If your bet won, the amount you bet would be returned along with a certain percentage of losing side¡¯s total bet, which was calculated after the fact. It was a bit of a mess, but it stopped the Combatant¡¯s Hall from ever incurring a loss since they just took a flat fee from the losing side. And a portion of that fee always went to the winning combatant. It was one of the reasons that manipulation was such a large problem in the Combatant¡¯s Hall. Since the hall couldn¡¯t lose, they didn¡¯t monitor the fighters closely to make sure they weren¡¯t throwing matches. They just didn¡¯t care, and it became an aspect of the Combatant¡¯s Hall that those who gambled could only accept. And since basically the only person betting on him was himself, almost everyone¡¯s money would soon belong to him. The fight itself was slightly worrying though. Winning shouldn¡¯t be a problem, but judging by how frightened the other combatants were of Eric, doing so with only his footwork might be challenging. If push came to shove he would use his skills. But he would prefer not to.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. After waiting for a few minutes, Dante channeled world essence into his legs and smiled at Eric. ¡°I¡¯m ready when you are.¡± Mana spread from Eric into the floor, this time far faster than before. ¡°I¡¯ve been ready.¡± The stone floor beneath Eric completely shattered, creating stone shards out of the stage. The mana seeped into the shards, rushing inside of them as they began to float in the air around Eric and press themselves against his body. Dante watched in amazement. It was armor, stone armor. It only took a few seconds for Eric¡¯s entire body to be completely covered. A few of the finer pieces of stone even coated the Eric¡¯s head. They didn¡¯t really cover his hair or face, but they framed his face in a way that actually looked pretty badass. Eric finished his ¡®transformation¡¯ and stood magnificently in the center of the stage in a very antagonizing manner. He no longer looked delicate, that was for certain. Eric basked in the amazed gazes of the crowd as he stared at Dante. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, getting cold feet?¡± Arron was right, Eric definitely liked to show off. The skill was pretty cool though¡­ Throughout the entire process, Dante maintained his nonchalance. ¡°Why do I feel like you¡¯re just antagonizing me because you can no longer move with all that additional weight?¡± Eric snorted as he held out his hand. One of the stone shards in his armor fluctuated with mana before shooting out at a blinding speed. Dante laughed as he reached out with his right hand and caught the rock in a relaxed manner. ¡°So I was right. You really can¡¯t move.¡± No only was Eric shocked, but several members of audience muttered in surprise after seeing the ease in which he dealt with the attack. Truthfully, the impact put more strain on his shoulder than he would have thought. It wasn¡¯t enough to do any damage with his level of Constitution though, and it would take more than just a rock to damage his hand. More stones on Eric¡¯s armor charged with mana, and Dante leisurely dodged them as they blasted past him. He slowly walked toward Eric¡¯s unmoving form as though he was in complete control of the fight. He was beginning to think that Eric really couldn¡¯t move, which would only make this even more hilarious. As Eric shot stones, the ones at his feet floated up and filled the gaps in his armor, and as Dante looked closer, he realized that the mana sent into the floor earlier was still active. Dante slammed the world essence in his legs into the ground as he shot to the side. Then he landed and immediately shot himself toward Eric. Two stones flew at him, one was dodged, the other was batted to the side with the back of his hand as he arrived before Eric. Then, using the force of his momentum, Dante balled his right hand into a fist and slammed it against Eric¡¯s protected chest. The sound of stone being crushed was clearly heard thougout the Combatant¡¯s Hall as Eric grunted in pain and blasted backward. Dante remained unmoving in the same spot as Eric slowly stood up, shaking his wrist in a relaxed manner as he theatrically sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth. ¡°Damn, I didn¡¯t think that your armor would be so tough.¡± The crowd was completely silent, no one could believe what they were seeing. Despite being in such an advantageous position, Dante didn¡¯t lower his guard. He was almost positive that Eric had at least one more skill that he hadn¡¯t seen if not more. As Eric finally got to his feet, the crowd could clearly see the gaping hole in his stone armor. Eric¡¯s pale face was also a sight to see, and the rage on it was almost comical at this point. He began to walk forward, and there wasn¡¯t a shred of doubt on his face, meaning Dante¡¯s earlier conjecture of him having other skills was likely correct. It was somewhat surprising to see Eric on the move. Dante looked at the ground and noticed that the mana was still actively moving through and around the stone shards on the floor. Then he looked up to the stone armor on Eric¡¯s chest that wasn¡¯t patching itself up like it had earlier when he shot the rocks. It was possible that the skill was heavily reliant on staying in the area it was cast in. Dante stepped forward, whether his conjecture was correct or not, there was no point in letting Eric step back into that area. As he stepped closer, he noticed something unusual. The air surrounding Eric was unnaturally warm, and getting warmer every passing second. Far warmer actually. It was getting blazing hot. The time for playing around was definitely over. Dante dashed to the side, then straight at Eric, smashing him in the side with his right hand. This time when the stone armor was struck, shards of hot rock exploded everywhere. Several of them landed on him, and this time the sharp intake of breath wasn¡¯t faked. The rocks were fucking hot. Eric was blasted backward from the impact yet again. He looked to be in quite the sorry state, but he definitely wasn¡¯t out of the fight. The rock armor surrounding him was beginning to glow red. Three of the rocks on Eric¡¯s body began to fill with mana before shooting at him. Dante had no intention of blocking them this time, and chose to narrowly dodge to the side instead. He thought he was in the clear when a fluctuation of mana in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Dante reacted without thinking, shooting himself across the arena to get away as those three rocks exploded, sending molten rock everywhere. Dante grimaced. That could have ended badly. He looked back at Eric, more than a little bit jealous. Every skill that Eric had used was too complimentary. Dante exploded toward Eric, narrowly avoiding Eric¡¯s flailing lava arms as he drove his fist into Eric¡¯s head. The force caused Eric to stagger, but he quickly recovered by filling ten rocks with mana and blasting them in his general direction. Forced to retreat, Dante sprang sideways as he avoided the exploding rocks. Dante looked down at his hand as he regained his bearing, cursing at what he saw. The temporary combatant¡¯s glove he had been using was burning, and sections of his hand and the tattoo like symbols could be seen underneath. He looked at Eric to get a feel for his condition. A section of his face was definitely going to be badly disfigured for at least a month where he punched him, and he likely broke at least one rib from the body shots earlier. It was unfortunate, as he was planning on roughing him up a bit more, but continuing the fight wasn¡¯t much of an option at this point. Dante picked up a stone and shot toward Eric, zipping side to side as he avoided the exploding rocks that were launched at him. The erratic movement put a massive strain on his ankles, but resulted in Eric being unable to touch him even slightly. Dante appeared before him, smiling cheerfully as he brought the stone in his hand down and watched the helplessness in Eric¡¯s eyes. The stone clashed into Eric¡¯s head, and the light in his eyes went out as he slumped to the floor. Still alive, but he wouldn¡¯t feel too great when he woke up. Which wasn¡¯t something he was going to miss out on. After a moment of stunned silence several gasps of disbelief could be heard echoing throughout the arena. A few people in the crowd even fainted, and a majority those who didn¡¯t were glaring daggers at both Eric and him. They clearly had gone a little overboard on their bets, and many of them voiced their discontent. The rest of the spectators just stared in shock, especially the combatants that had fought Eric in the past. They were rubbing their eyes in disbelief. Dante ignored the uproar and crouched down next to Eric as he rummaged in his own pockets and pulled a vial out of his storage. ¡°Get away from him you bastard!¡± Dante ignored the familiar voice, it was Eric¡¯s friend that spoke up earlier. With one hand covering his nose, Dante pulled the cork of the vial off with his teeth and then waved it in front of Eric¡¯s face. There was a loud shriek as Eric awoke, silencing the audience as their attention was drawn to the torture that was taking on the stage. Eric looked retched and hungover as he weakly tried to escape the vials range. Dante replaced the stopper and put the vial in his pocket before storing it. ¡°Sucks doesn¡¯t it?¡± He smiled as he looked up at Eric¡¯s three friends. They were now surrounding him and didn¡¯t look too friendly. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m feeling quite tired. If you all want to fight, I¡¯m sure Eric would be happy to oblige.¡± Chapter 97 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 97 Of Eric¡¯s three friends, the talkative one from earlier was the only person who was rash enough to do anything, the other two looked reluctant to involve themselves in such an embarrassing scene. Eric was on the floor, trying to regain his composure as he looked at the audience in horror. Other than those glaring hatefully at him, several others were discussing the match that had just transpired. Questions arose on whether or not Eric was really as powerful as they thought, or if the other combatants really did let him win because of his father. His reputation had taken quite a blow. Dante also noticed that more than one glare was aimed at him as well, but those stares weren¡¯t anywhere near as angry or numerous. Those pale faced gamblers were just looking for someone to place the blame on. Everything seemed to have gone rather well, hopefully it would continue that way. Eric¡¯s talkative friend stepped forward, his hand was on the hilt the sword by his side. ¡°You¡¯re going to regret what you¡¯ve done.¡± Dante maintained his smile. This person was hardly a threat if he acted alone. The other two might be a problem though. The one to his left in particular looked like he was dangerous. He was older than the rest as well, in his mid-twenties from the looks of it. And since he was almost definitely specialized, he was likely much older. Of the three, he was also the calmest by far. Beside him, Eric struggled to sit up. But halfway through he moaned and his face paled as he slumped back on the floor. Definitely a broken rib or two. That calm man addressed the person who stepped toward him. ¡°Eli, grab Eric and get out of here.¡± The person who threatened him, Eli, reluctantly paused mid-step, then nodded in acquiescence as he quickly moved to Eric¡¯s side. Eli ignored Eric¡¯s groans of pain as he lifted him and began to carry him toward the arena¡¯s exit. Dante watched the two leave, not taking any action to stop them. He had already accomplished everything he wanted to. And after waking Eric up, Eric was able to fully experience the mocking and hate-filled gazes of the audience. With the importance he placed on the opinions of others, he would probably prefer to be dead. The calm man¡¯s eyes narrowed as he looked at Dante. ¡°Who are you?¡± Despite the plain words, the implications behind them were clear. The man in front of him wanted to know why he had acted against Eric, and what power gave him the confidence to do so. Dante waved a hand dismissively. ¡°No one of consequence.¡± That man continued to stare at him, his gaze was penetrating. ¡°That may be, but your actions are of great consequence.¡± He gestured to the other person from Eric¡¯s group and the two of them began to move toward the exit. ¡°This isn¡¯t over.¡± He spoke loudly so that the audience could hear, obviously trying to save what was left of their reputation by making a public threat. Dante rolled his eyes at their overly dramatic exit as he too walked toward the staircase. He had considered telling them that he was a part of the assassins¡¯ guild, which would be an excellent deterrent, but didn¡¯t want to rely on the guild if it wasn¡¯t necessary. The guild wouldn¡¯t be something he could rely on forever. Still, it would be best to act prudently for the time being. Thankfully, he hadn¡¯t wasted much time at the Combatant¡¯s Hall. It was still before noon. So after collecting all of his hard-earned money, he could get an early start on all the shopping he had intended to put off for the following day. Dante stepped into the main room where he had registered earlier. Despite the underground room¡¯s massive size, it was packed with people. Everyone was huddled around the desk where the bets were paid out, and almost all of them were demanding a refund for his fight. Several of them stared coldly at him, but the treatment he received was relatively decent in comparison to what Eric got. He knew because he could see Eli trying to push his way through the crowd with Eric in his arms at the far end of the room. No one forcefully blocked him, as Eric¡¯s backing was too powerful, but more than one person stepped forward to momentarily obstruct the two as they muttered curses under their breath. ¡°Dante!¡± Hearing Leah¡¯s familiar voice, a smile spread across his face. Dante turned to see Leah, Candice, and Arron stepping into the room. He practically ran up to them. Well, to Leah. He noticed the serious expression on her face and assumed the worst. ¡°What happened? Don¡¯t tell me¡­ you lost it?¡± For a brief moment, Leah didn¡¯t seem to comprehend what he was saying. ¡°What? No. Aren¡¯t you worried?¡± Dante let out a breath of relief, she didn¡¯t lose it. ¡°Why would I be worried?¡± Candice looked at him in disbelief. ¡°There is no way they are just going to let you go.¡±A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Dante waved it off. ¡°I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Both Candice and Leah gave him a disapproving look. They didn¡¯t seem to be reassured. He looked at Arron. ¡°They won¡¯t just kill me, right?¡± Arron shook his head, he was standing to the side with his arms crossed over his chest. ¡°Since you embarrassed Eric publicly, and fairly, everything they do will be above board.¡± ¡®Above board¡¯ was still quite dangerous, but shouldn¡¯t be a massive problem. Leah looked at him with concern. ¡°Did you get hurt earlier?¡± That was actually a good question. Dante inspected himself. A few burns and a lot of bruises. Nothing major though. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Candice rolled her eyes. ¡°How did you even do it?¡± Candice¡¯s question made Arron far more attentive, and Leah nodded seriously. ¡°You were amazing.¡± Dante shrugged the question off as he looked at Leah. ¡°I think he just underestimated me. Can I see it?¡± ¡°Oh!¡± Leah¡¯s hand brushed against the bodice of her dress and a slip of paper appeared in it. ¡°Here it is.¡± Dante accepted the slip as he pondered over where it had come from. There wasn¡¯t a single pocket on Leah¡¯s dress. ¡°Where did you¡­ Never mind. I¡¯m going to go cash this in.¡± He could hardly contain his excitement, the hidden compartments in Leah¡¯s dress could wait until later. He carefully held the slip in both hands as he walked toward the receptionists that handled the betting. Unfortunately, they were overly crowded from all of those complaining. Fortunately, as soon as he made it clear that he was cashing in a bet, the workers saw to him first. Dante handed the slip to the receptionist and greedily rubbed his hands together, anticipating the vast sum of money that had been reaped from all of these pale-faced gamblers he easily fooled. ¡°Let¡¯s see. 22 gold coins bet on match number 374 of the day, between fighters 497 and 7332. Your bet earned 12.3% of the total pot, which comes out to 432 gold, 63 silver, and 12 copper.¡± Dante¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°What?¡± The receptionist looked back down at his paper. ¡°You bet 22 gold-¡± Dante cut him off. ¡°Not that. You said I only earned 12.3% of the pot. That¡¯s not possible.¡± The receptionist looked back down at his paper, this time carefully scanning through it. ¡°Sir, I can assure you that this is correct.¡± Dante rubbed his temples, not understanding how this was possible. This was a complete and utter tragedy. He should have earned thousands of gold coins. Someone must have seen through his act¡­ He was almost as angry as the people who lost all of their money. After giving himself a few seconds to regain his composure, Dante let out a sigh and looked back up at the receptionist. ¡°Alright, where can I pick my money up?¡± The receptionist wrote something on the slip, handed it back to him, then gestured to a doorway next to his desk. ¡°All earnings that surpass one hundred gold coins must be collected privately. Just give one of the attendants your slip and they will help you.¡± Dante could only nod his head. For some reason, he felt like he came out of this entire situation with a loss¡­ despite making 400 gold. His eyes lit up as he suddenly had a thought. ¡°Can I also pick up my earnings from the fights I took part in?¡± The receptionist nodded. ¡°Of course, just give your registration badge to the attendant with your slip.¡± Mood now marginally better, Dante walked through the doorway. Even if the percent was far smaller, his earnings for winning the fight should still come out to a few dozen gold coins. After showing his slip to the security that was stationed in the hallway, Dante stepped into a room that was both smaller and more vacant than the one he was in previously. It was also more lavish, and there was even furniture for sitting. Other than the Combatant Hall¡¯s workers, the only others in the room looked like they were excessively wealthy. Which made sense given the rooms purpose. Shortly after entering the room, an extraordinarily beautiful woman walked up to him. He tried not to let her looks distract him, but it was challenging when she was barely decent. Not only were here legs left bare due to her short skirt, but the top she wore left more to be seen than unseen. ¡°Welcome sir, my name is Clara.¡± She smiled lasciviously. ¡°Is there something I can help you with?¡± If he hadn¡¯t spent so much time with Melisandre and Olivia, keeping his composure would have been far more difficult. ¡°Yes, actually.¡± He held out both his slip and the registration badge. ¡°I¡¯ve come to collect my earnings.¡± ¡°Of course, please follow me.¡± Clara began to walk in front of him, her hips swaying in a way that couldn¡¯t be natural. She led him to a small room and held the door open for him. ¡°Please have a seat.¡± Dante walked into the room. Other than a long bench, it was completely bare. ¡°Give me one moment. I¡¯ll have your earnings calculated and brought to you.¡± Clara stepped out of the room, leaving him alone with his thoughts. And all of those thoughts were focused on the person who took his hard-earned money. That was definitely a grudge he would hold onto. Only a few minutes passed when a knock came from the door. ¡°Come in.¡± The door opened to reveal a surprisingly old man, and a surprisingly lacking amount of gold. And despite being elderly, the white-haired old man was alert. His eyes were completely focused, as though nothing would escape his attention. Dante¡¯s eyes narrowed as he prepared to defend. There was a possibility that this old man was someone on Eric¡¯s side. ¡°You don¡¯t look like you¡¯re carrying 400 gold coins.¡± The old man gave him an amused smile that reminded him of Victoria¡¯s. ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯m not. I have been sent at the behest of the first lady. She has requested your presence, and I am to escort you to her.¡± Dante¡¯s eyes widened in fake surprise, then he smiled merrily. ¡°The first lady wants to meet me? That¡¯s great! I¡¯ve heard much about her and have been eager to meet her for myself.¡± His expression faltered, as though he suddenly realized something. ¡°Only¡­ I¡¯ve already made important plans that cannot be rescheduled. I¡¯m afraid that it would be impossible for me to meet her today. Would it be possible for me to see her tomorrow night, or maybe the day after if it¡¯s convenient?¡± The amused smile was wiped off the old man¡¯s face. ¡°No.¡± Dante shook his head sadly. ¡°Then I¡¯m afraid we are at an impasse. What is to be done about this?¡± He had no intention of meeting this first lady. There was no way she just wanted to have a chat with him. He had enough troubles of his own, there was no need to involve himself with someone who was in the midst of a power struggle with a million combatant strong army stationed outside of her city. The old man didn¡¯t relent. ¡°You will follow me, and together we will go see her. Any other matters are of secondary importance and can wait until later.¡± Dante paused, as if thinking it over. ¡°You are quite right. How could anything compare to the importance of meeting the first lady?¡± This situation was completely unfair. Nothing he did should have attracted the attention of such a high-level figure. Unless it was the act of embarrassing Eric itself that led to this. Chapter 98 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 98 Dante motioned to the door. ¡°Alright, now get out. I still need to collect my winnings. We can go after.¡± The old man nodded with satisfaction. ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting outside.¡± He turned and opened the door he had just walked through, which revealed the two men waiting outside. They were burdened with a small chest that was carried between them. Seeing him and the old man in the room the two workers looked uncertain, so Dante waved them in. ¡°Place it down over here.¡± The two of them shuffled past the old man, who promptly walked out, and carefully placed it down in front of him. Seeing them struggle with the weight of the small chest made Dante¡¯s mood visibly improve. After watching them place the chest down, Dante¡¯s eyes shifted between it and the two workers as he watched them walk back outside. When the door finally shut with an audible click, he eagerly stepped forward to open the small chest. Inside were three separate compartments. The largest held gold coins, and the other two smaller compartments to the right side held copper and silver respectively. The silver and copper were relatively inconsequential, and he immediately stored them all, but the gold coins were definitely worth counting. He picked through them one by one, making sure he hadn¡¯t been cheated. Again. There were a total of 472 gold coins. 432 were the winnings from the bet Leah placed, 22 were returned from the original bet, and apparently, 18 were from winning the fight itself. Overall, pretty good. Not even a fraction of what he should have made though. After he finished storing everything, Dante closed the chest and stood. He now had other problems to deal with. He looked at the door. One problem in particular. There weren¡¯t really many options. He definitely considered killing the old man immediately, but that could lead to even larger problems. Not only would it make finishing the business he came to Sloria for impossible, but there was also the possibility of being caught while he tried to flee the city. He also considered running as soon as he and the old man stepped outside of the Combatant¡¯s Hall. It wouldn¡¯t be difficult; a few Blinks and he could easily disappear. That would also make finishing his business impossible though. The first lady had too much influence in Sloria, especially in the different shops and halls. Other than following along willingly, those were pretty much his only options. Which is why he decided to go. If the first lady¡¯s only impression of him was the fight with Eric, she shouldn¡¯t need him for anything too consequential. Hopefully. Dante opened the door and stepped out of the private room. Waiting outside was that same old man from earlier. Clara and the other two workers were nowhere to be seen. The old man looked him up and down, likely wondering where he had stored all the money he had just received. ¡°By the way, my name is Henry Atkins, one of the first lady¡¯s seneschals. How should I address you?¡± Dante shrugged. ¡°You may address me however you wish.¡± He watched the old man¡¯s reaction carefully, but there was no visible change. Henry turned and began walking at a brisk pace. ¡°Very well. Let us make haste, I should have returned several minutes ago.¡± Dante followed behind. Henry¡¯s attitude toward his statement was somewhat revealing. If Henry had tried to force out an answer or caused a scene, it would have made him a bit more hesitant to follow. But since he was being treated with at least a modicum of respect, he probably wasn¡¯t being lead into a terrible situation, despite basically being forced. The two of them quickly made their way out of the Combatant¡¯s Hall and through the second section of the city until they came to the third. As soon as the guards at the gate saw Henry they stepped to the side respectfully and allowed the two of them to pass without a word. The third section of the city was interesting. It seemed to mostly be filled with residences and governmental buildings. And even though there were people milling around, they were far fewer in number than in the other two sections of Sloria. There were far more guards though. There was even a church, which surprised him. It stood out because there was an enormous statue of the Goddess in the courtyard in front of it. The fact there was a church in Sloria wasn¡¯t at all unusual, but the placement was. It was in the third section of the city, and judging by what he had seen so far, not very accessible for the public. He couldn¡¯t imagine what kind of havoc it would cause during the holy day of bestowal.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Henry led him to the largest building in the third section of the city. A massive stone fortress that closely resembled a castle. Not only was the building heavily fortified in structure, but in personnel as well. Guards were everywhere. They were stationed on every rooftop, balcony, and doorway. And that didn¡¯t include the ones that were patrolling throughout the building grounds and the interior of the building itself. Henry walked past the guards as though they weren¡¯t there and stepped inside the stone fortress. Dante was more than reluctant to follow after seeing how tight security was, but stepped behind Henry all the same. The inside of the building bore a striking resemblance to the outside. Made of stone and tightly guarded. There were no lavish structures, art pieces, or fine carpets that would usually be found in such a large city¡¯s headquarters. The entire fortress looked like it was built for function, and the ability to be defended. Other than guards, the building was also flooded with scholars, officials, and servants. And all of them seemed to be incredibly busy. Henry led him up a wide staircase which opened up into what could only be described as a throne room. Directly in front of him on the far side of the room was another set of steps, and on top of them was a large chair with a very small girl sitting in it. The throne made it seem like she was looking down on the person speaking to her. On the left and right side of the room were long tables. There were around twenty officials on each side, about forty in total, and most of them were preoccupied with the papers that they were shuffling through in front of them. What surprised Dante the most upon stepping into the throne room was the girl that was sitting in the large chair in front of him. She was familiar. On the day he flew into Sloria he had seen her. She was the was the one on the raptor that had a red tinge to its feathers. The first time he saw her, he thought that she had an extraordinary demeanor. Now he realized why. The girl sitting in front of him, who couldn¡¯t be more than two or three years older than him, was without a doubt the first lady. Her age made everything about her even more shocking. As the middle-aged man speaking to her continued to rattle off large numbers that Dante couldn¡¯t comprehend the meaning of, he examined the first lady closely. Something about her was outstanding, but it definitely wasn¡¯t her looks. Sure, she was beautiful, but not ridiculously so. Heads might turn when she walked through a crowd, but that would be the extent of things. The first lady had straight black hair, which was common enough within some of the better off families in Aleria, but her blue eyes were striking. They were so light in color that they almost seemed glacial, and her brief glance at him when he entered the throne room made him feel like she was staring through his soul. Other than that, both her posture and facial expression were incredibly composed. Comparable to Melisandre even. Despite her age, he had a feeling that she shouldn¡¯t be underestimated. ¡°¡­ the new contract should supplement the three thousand seven hundred and sixty-seven new children that have recently arrived. But the four thousand eight hundred and twenty-three recently arrived adults will cause a deficit.¡± The first lady looked to the left side of the room. ¡°Minister Hahn, how many of the new arrivals have enlisted?¡± The person that the first lady looked at, a man that looked to be in his forties with a militant air and sharp eyebrows, responded with a frown on his face. ¡°Only one hundred and thirty-two. Several of the Combatants were recruited by the camps stationed in the valley on their way to the city.¡± The first lady paused for a mere second. ¡°Send Commander Glover south with half of the second legion and both of War Leader Hartman¡¯s companies. Tell them to eliminate Warlord Stratos and recruit as many people with farming or hunting Classifications as possible.¡± ¡°My lady, I¡¯m afraid that antagonizing War Leader Hartman would be unwise.¡± On the right side of the room, a man in his twenties with a pretentious and scholarly air spoke up. His warning was full of condescension, awarding him the glares of several of the officials that were sitting on the left side of the room. ¡°In such strained circumstances, it would be wise to act with a bit of forethought.¡± The first lady shifted her gaze to the scholarly man that spoke. ¡°Indeed, Secretary Armond. In such circumstances, it would be foolish to act without forethought. A single mistake, or a single word spoken improperly could easily cost someone their life.¡± Despite saying the words casually, the atmosphere in the room quickly changed, especially on the right side of the room, and Secretary Armond looked far more uncertain than he had before. The first lady looked away from Secretary Armond and her eyes briefly passed over Dante. ¡°We will reconvene tomorrow. If there are important matters that cannot wait, they will be delegated by Chief Steward Roth.¡± The first lady stood, and beside him Henry began to move forward. The two of them walked to the left side of the room until they were behind the long bench filled with officials, then made their way to the back of the room and followed after the first lady through the doorway located there. They stepped into a hallway and then the three of them turned into the first room on the right. It was immediately apparent that they had stepped into an office, the large desk that had stacks of papers on it was all the evidence he needed. Other than the desk, the room was as bare as the rest of the stone fortress. There were a few chairs, but other than that it was completely empty. The first lady sat behind the desk as she motioned to the chair next to him. ¡°Please sit.¡± Her glacial eyes shifted to Henry. ¡°Thank you for bringing him. You may go.¡± This certainly wasn¡¯t going like he thought it would. Dante sat down as Henry left the office. He didn¡¯t really know what to say, or what he was even doing there actually. The first lady began to shuffle through the papers on her desk, eventually finding the ones she was looking for. The corners of her lips rose slightly as she looked up and made eye contact with him. ¡°You are fighter 7332, correct?¡± Dante nodded. ¡°That is correct.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve caused quite the scene.¡± She placed three of the papers on the desk facing him. ¡°These are three deathmatch contracts that are pending approval. All of them have been issued to you in the past hour.¡± Chapter 99 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 99 Dante looked at the papers with more than just a bit of disbelief. As the first lady said, they were deathmatch contracts, all of them issued to fighter 7332. Which was him. He wasn¡¯t surprised by the contracts, he had expected them. But he was surprised by how quickly they were sent out. Especially the first lady¡¯s mention of them being an hour old. That didn¡¯t seem possible. From the moment he exited the Combatant¡¯s Hall to the time that Henry found him inside of the private room, no more than fifteen minutes could have passed. Not only did that mean that someone on Eric¡¯s side had these contracts set up within minutes, but it also meant that the first lady had sent Henry out in those few minutes. The relay speed of information was unfathomable. The first lady saw his surprise and clearly mistook the reason for it. ¡°Ordinarily, deathmatch contracts are immediately approved as long as neither of the fighters are subordinates of mine. This is a rather unique case, because two of these three challengers are very important to a faction that opposes me. Which is why I asked for you.¡± Dante watched as she picked through a few papers and read through them. ¡°Seventeen consecutive losses in the Combatant¡¯s Hall, then you went on to easily defeat Eric Navos. It wouldn¡¯t be a stretch to say that you were hiding your strength.¡± She looked up from the paper, as though gauging his reaction. ¡°I think we may be able to help each other.¡± That was unlikely. He still kept an interested expression on his face though. ¡°How so?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure that you are aware of your current¡­ predicament. War Leader Navos¡¯ son won¡¯t allow you to live comfortably, if at all, but if you help me I am willing offer you my protection. Should you prove to be useful, I could even offer you a full-time position with several benefits.¡± He couldn¡¯t imagine a person that was stupid enough to accept the conditions she was giving him. She wanted him to kill at least one, or possibly even two important people. And in return for digging his own grave, he would be given a ¡®position¡¯, and protection from the people who would then want to kill him in retaliation. She probably didn¡¯t even think he would win. Just that it would be worth a shot, a risk she could take without incurring losses. Dante looked down at the three deathmatch contracts that were placed in front of them. One of the challengers had the last name Navos, the other two were people he hadn¡¯t heard of before. ¡°You want me to kill them?¡± The first lady gave a slight nod. ¡°Indeed.¡± ¡°I refuse.¡± There wasn¡¯t the slightest change in her expression. ¡°Might I ask why?¡± Dante gave a light shrug. ¡°I¡¯m not confident in my ability. The reason why I lost so many fights on purpose was so that Eric would underestimate me. If he hadn¡¯t, I couldn¡¯t even say for sure that I could have beaten him.¡± Dante gestured to the three papers. ¡°There is no way the people they sent to fight me are weaker than him. On the contrary, they are likely far stronger. If I agreed to your suggestion and tried to fight one of them I would be signing my life away.¡± Dante continued. ¡°Even if I was successful, War Leader Navos would involve himself directly to kill me. And I doubt he would do it through a deathmatch. I would be living in constant fear.¡± She nodded. ¡°Your reasoning is sound, and your answer was to be expected.¡± The first lady smiled lightly, it actually seemed genuine. ¡°You can¡¯t fault me for trying though.¡± She picked up the three contracts and stacked them off to the side. ¡°It will be a small matter for me to delay the approval of these contracts for a few days, but I will eventually be pressured into signing them. Once that happens, you will be coerced into agreeing to at least one of them. I would suggest you leave Sloria before that happens. Henry is waiting outside, he will escort you past the guards.¡±Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Dante couldn¡¯t help but stare at her blankly. He couldn¡¯t believe that she wasn¡¯t going to pursue the issue and try to force him into doing what she wanted. Didn¡¯t believe it. At first, he thought it was a trick, but she was obviously done with him. The first lady had already shifted her attention to a different stack of reports, completely ignoring him. Dante stood and moved to the door, pausing for a brief moment as he waited for¡­ something. Some threat or command to return. But the first lady remained silent, so he opened the door and stepped into the hallway. Henry was waiting for him, the old man looked him up and down with interest. ¡°That was certainly quick. I assume things didn¡¯t go well?¡± ¡°Actually, things went better than I thought they would.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear it. I can drop you back off into the second section of the city. The four gates lead to the Hall District, Residential District, Shopping District, and the Barracks. Which would you like to go to?¡± ¡°The Hall District.¡± Meeting with the first lady hadn¡¯t taken much time, so he didn¡¯t see the point in holding off on his shopping. Henry nodded. ¡°Follow me then.¡± The two of them retraced their steps until they returned back to the Hall District. When they arrived, Henry politely said goodbye before stepping away. Dante then made his way to the Merchant¡¯s Hall. Upon stepping into the Merchant¡¯s Hall, the first thing he noticed was the orderliness. The room he stepped into had four different staircases, one in each corner of the room, and a large section of desks against the far wall. Those desks were flooded with attendants, and around half of them were busy assisting either buyers or sellers. Other than those people and the occasional passerby that ascended or descended the stairs, the room was vacant. Dante stepped up to a free attendant, an elderly man that was scribbling numbers on a blank piece of paper. ¡°Excuse me sir, could you help me?¡± The elderly man placed his writing utensil down gently, then moved the paper to the side and looked up at him with clear eyes. ¡°Certainly, how may I help you?¡± Dante smiled amiably. ¡°This is my first time at the Merchant¡¯s Hall, and I need to purchase quite a large number of items. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll need help locating them.¡± ¡°Oh, that makes things easy then.¡± The elderly man reached down into a cabinet and pulled out a pen and a piece of paper. ¡°Just make a list of everything you are looking for. If you don¡¯t know an item¡¯s name, a detailed description will usually do.¡± He placed the two items in front of Dante. ¡°The time it takes for us to find the items will depend on the quantity and variety of what you are looking for, but it shouldn¡¯t take more than a few hours.¡± Dante gratefully accepted the pen and paper. The idea of just filling out a list and letting others find the things he was looking for was incredibly convenient. Dante began to write, first starting with the alchemic ingredients he needed. Mostly just large quantities of various plants and reagents that were needed for the few alchemic pills that he could make. He then moved on to the jars he would need to store the ingredients when his pen paused on the paper. Dante looked back up at the receptionist. ¡°How expensive are storage containers with preservation enchantments?¡± All of the alchemy jars he had were acquired by Victoria, and he definitely didn¡¯t have enough. The elderly man didn¡¯t even pause, he was able to instantly recall the information. ¡°The going rate for preservation enchanted storage containers is 2 gold per cubic foot, and to the best of my knowledge our containers range from 2 cubic feet to 10 cubic feet.¡± They were more expensive than he had thought, and they didn¡¯t even have the smaller jars that Victoria had given him, it was a good thing he had asked first. He decided to get twenty 2 cubic foot containers and ten 5 cubic foot containers. It was a large monetary loss, but since his storage skill didn¡¯t preserve the items he stored, he considered it to be necessary. There was only one other thing that he knew he needed, enchanting powder. He didn¡¯t really know what that entailed, as his knowledge was lacking. But from his time spent with Leah he knew that there was more to the powder than just grinding down Chaos stone. Other added items were needed. Since the receptionist had said that he could just describe an item that he needed, he asked for a variety of enchantment powders. He added a few details, mentioning that he needed them for tier one and two enchantments, which would be fine for now, and that he wanted no more than ten gold worth. It wasn¡¯t that he wanted to spend so much, but he was fairly certain that the powder would be at least somewhat expensive, and he would need quite a bit to practice with. After that, he handed his list over to the elderly man. ¡°Is there a way for me to browse other items while I wait?¡± The elderly receptionist gestured to the stairs as he accepted the list. ¡°The upper floors have items that are set out to be sold. The value of the items on display increases with each ascending floor.¡± He then looked over the list carefully, muttering to himself as he made notes on it with a pen. ¡°Since most of the items are located in the same general area, I should have everything collected in an hour or two. Will you be staying in the Merchant¡¯s Hall so that you can collect them, or should I send the items to your residence?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be browsing the items on the upper floors. Just come and find me when everything is ready.¡± After the receptionist nodded in confirmation, Dante turned and stepped up the stairs. Chapter 100 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 100 After stepping onto the second level of the Merchant¡¯s Hall, and being patted down by the airtight security, Dante began to browse the items that were out for sale. From asking, he found out that the second floor had items that were valued below 1 gold. The third floor had items that were valued below 10 gold but above 1. And the fourth and final floor had items that were valued above ten gold. He was told that he wouldn¡¯t be able to go on the fourth floor though, it was restricted unless he was given access from someone of high status. At first, he thought it strange that the fourth floor was restricted. But apparently those items were sent out to the weekly auction, and were often sold for a higher price than they would be otherwise. He began to browse items on the second floor, which were all well within his budget. The majority of the second floor was made up of raw materials. Metals, plants, different minerals that acted as reagents, and parts of various creatures that could be used for different purposes. Occasionally he would come across basic armor or weapons, but none of them were worth even looking at. Unfortunately, there weren¡¯t any essence crystals or other items of similar use. Their demand was too high within the factions of Sloria. There were a few alchemist potions, but they literally didn¡¯t do anything. The item description said that they were base solutions that could be used to aid the process of making other elixirs. Other than that, everything else looked like trash. Antiques that were made with precious metals, vases, chandeliers, and even old poems written on paper that was close to rotting. He did read over the poems. Looking for anything of interest, but most of them were about love, and the rest were frivolous. After purchasing a few furs that were from creatures with soft hair for blankets, Dante moved on to the third floor. The third floor had a far larger selection, and the first thing that he looked at were the functional items. Those included a wide variety of things, but he started with the elixirs. There seemed to be potions for everything. All of the effects were temporary, but they gave things like cold resistance, fire resistance, strength boosts, speed boosts, and defensive boosts among other things. And despite the heavy price of around 5 gold each, the effects were minimal. Equivalent to a single attribute point in the case of the physical boosting elixirs, and the effects only lasted a few minutes. He looked, but didn¡¯t buy any of them. The artificed items were of far greater interest to him. It was unfortunate that there were so few in number. He was pretty sure that most artificed items would usually belong on the fourth floor. Of the items, the one he thought was the most useful was a shield. If fed with mana it would hold its position, even if hovering in the middle of the air. He wanted to test its strength in that situation, but the hall¡¯s security definitely wouldn¡¯t allow him to do that. The shield didn¡¯t really have a use for him though. Given his skills, the mana cost wasn¡¯t worth it when he could likely achieve a similar effect. And although he wanted to buy the shield, it wasn¡¯t worth the 10 gold cost if he wouldn¡¯t really use it. Other than the shield, he found a ring that, when filled with mana, could slow a single projectile. More than one would disrupt it though, so he wasn¡¯t interested. There was an artificed dagger that he took a 5 gold loss on. Feeding mana into it cause the blade to cool until it froze anything it touched, which would be convenient on a hot day. The description of it was slightly worrying though, it said that keeping the dagger activated for extended periods of time would cause it to ¡®discharge¡¯. Which explained the low cost of such a useful tool. Dante moved away from the artificer section after that. All of the artificed items on the third floor seemed to be there because they were defective in some way. With the demand that all of the people in Sloria created, the useful ones would be valued well above 10 gold.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. He browsed the bows that were on display. Testing the strength of more than one of them and checking what the enchanted ones did by reading their descriptions. He decided against buying one though. None of them were of a quality that would be needed for metal arrows. He had been wanting to try and use a bow with the arrows that he created with his skill. Manipulate Blade was useful, but even when neglecting the mana cost involved there were situations where a regular bow would work better. After leaving the bow section he also bought another fur pelt, this one was far nicer than the one he got on the floor below. Which was good, because it cost about ten times more. After that, he was basically only interested in the books and manuscripts that were stacked in a far corner of the third floor. There weren¡¯t really any standard books for sale, almost all of them were old tomes that described historic events. Most of them regarding the escapades of various Warlords that fought for territory within the wastelands in the last 200 years. The other books for sale weren¡¯t even written in languages he could understand. They all just looked like scribbles and symbols. Needless to say, he was disappointed. He was beginning to think that everything in the second and third floor of the Merchant¡¯s Hall worth buying was already sold. Dante walked over to the rare raw materials that were on the third floor. He spent the remainder of his time inspecting the random metals, plants, and reagents. Reading each description and memorizing their characteristics so that he would recognize them in the future and know their purpose. That was what he was doing when the same elderly receptionist from earlier found him. ¡°Excuse me sir, the items that you requested have been collected. They are in loading bay fourteen, which is located in the back of the hall. If you would like, I will collect the payment for your bill and lead you there.¡± Dante nodded, then gestured to the stack of books in the far side of the room. ¡°Are there any other books? The selection seems to be quite lacking.¡± The receptionist looked at the books he pointed at and scratched his head in embarrassment. ¡°I¡¯m terribly sorry sir, but all the books collected in Sloria are sent directly to the first lady¡¯s personal collection. The exception being those that are considered inconsequential or unintelligible.¡± Dante let out a sigh, that certainly explained a lot. ¡°How much did everything end up costing?¡± The receptionist answered without giving it a moment¡¯s thought. ¡°After the service charge, 147 gold, 23 silver, and 42 copper.¡± Hearing the receptionist¡¯s words, Dante¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°How much was the service charge?¡± ¡°20 silvers, which includes the packaging fee.¡± Dante nodded, that seemed fair. The convenience alone was worth the 20 silver coins. ¡°Lead the way.¡± He followed the receptionist back down to the first floor and paid for the goods. After that, he was led down into a ¡®loading bay¡¯. The loading bay was basically just a room in the back of the hall that was raised about four feet off the ground. It was made so that the large door could be opened and a cart could be backed up to the bay and easily loaded. As soon as they stepped into the loading bay the receptionist gestured to the stacks of crates that had his new belongings in them. ¡°Feel free to make sure everything is in order. Do you have your own method of transportation? If not, the Merchant¡¯s Hall has a delivery service you could make use of.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need for a delivery service.¡± Dante walked up to the crates and looked into them. His enchantment powder and alchemic ingredients were neatly stowed, but all the preservation storage containers were haphazardly fit into their own individual crates. After making sure everything was in order, he looked back at the elderly receptionist. ¡°Everything looks good. Thanks for the help.¡± As soon as the receptionist left he began to store his new items. It only took a few minutes, and he even took the crates that they were stored in. He wasn¡¯t sure what he would do with them, but they would likely be useful eventually. When he finished, Dante left the Merchant¡¯s Hall. Despite it being late in the afternoon the sun was still high in the sky. Now that he had accomplished everything he set out to, Dante decided that it was better to leave Sloria before any other unexpected complications arose. Dante first made his way to the Enchanter¡¯s Hall. He had separated from Leah and Candice suddenly, and right after getting himself into trouble with Eric, so he wanted to let them know that he was okay and leaving. Unfortunately, when he arrived at the Enchanter¡¯s Hall, he discovered that they weren¡¯t there. And he also had no idea where he would find them, which was problematic. Without any better options, Dante wrote a quick note letting them know he was leaving Sloria and left it with the workers in the Enchanter¡¯s Hall. Dante then made his way out of Sloria unimpeded. And after paying 6 silvers to get his raptor back from where he left it outside of the city, he was flying high in the sky, sailing over the encamped soldiers in the valley below. Chapter 101 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 101 Dante flew for two consecutive days without stopping in his rush to get back to Warlord Vidal¡¯s main camp, and he was in no way ready for what he saw when he arrived. At first, he had thought that their side had gotten reinforcements, or possibly a new ally, but as he flew closer he quickly discovered that wasn¡¯t the case. The camp was completely surrounded, and by a force that looked to be at least 130,000 strong. It was Warlord Karabell¡¯s force, easily distinguishable by the flags waving in the breeze below him. The camp itself was overly crowded in comparison to when he left. But not nearly as crowded as it should have been if all of the conscripted troops and mercenary groups were recalled from the three fronts. He estimated the number of combatants inside to be around 70,000. By his estimate, no matter how large their losses were, they should still have around 90,000 combatants. Dante urged his tired raptor to fly to the right. Changing his course so that he flew alongside the dense forest on his way to the eastern front as he searched for the missing troops. He had sent his unit to the eastern front only a few days ago. The only thing he found when he arrived at the eastern front were corpses that littered the old battlefields. Despite the large number of bodies being picked apart by the scavenging creatures below him, the number couldn¡¯t explain the loss of troops. Dante nudged his raptor, turning it around and flying toward the western battlefront. As he flew over to the western front the sight that greeted him was a far more tragic one. Several thousand bodies littered the ground at the western front, and their numbers easily totaled over fifteen thousand. Dante flew lower to get a better look. What baffled him was the composition of the corpses. Almost every single one of them were part of Warlord Vidal¡¯s army. If he didn¡¯t see scattered members from Warlord Karabell¡¯s side he would have thought that they had just been buried, but that clearly wasn¡¯t the case. The western front was always the side they took the most losses on. The enemy there used a mounted force to dominate the battlefield. That didn¡¯t explain what he was seeing though. The losses below were catastrophic. Dante flew back toward the main camp, intent on getting answers. He had only been gone for six days, but the scene below him made him feel like he had been absent for months. As Dante flew closer to the main camp he could feel the heightened sense alertness from the troops below him. On both sides. Warlord Karabell¡¯s troops had arrows trained on him, and the troops on the stone wall of the camp were also preparing to fire. Luckily, neither side shot at him. Both were worried that he was their ally and were awaiting confirmation from their superior officers before making any rash decisions. That temporary ceasefire likely wouldn¡¯t last long, so Dante took advantage of it. As soon as his raptor flew above the camp he threw it into a straight dive, positioning the bird so that it would block the projectiles coming from the enemy closest to him while simultaneously hoping that the combatants in the camp below weren¡¯t idiots. As soon as he dove toward the camp the first rain of arrows shot toward him, slamming into the stomach of the large bird he was flying on and causing it to elicit loud shrieks in pain. He didn¡¯t have time to worry about the raptor though, two arrows were sailing toward him from the opposite side of the camp. Both were shot by sharpshooters, and their speed was far beyond what seemed feasible. Dante created two daggers, then sliced each arrow out of the air just before they reached him. A loud call came from the combatants below him. ¡°Shield!¡± Just as he was rejoicing from the prospect of not being shot at his own side, Dante saw a fluctuation of mana in the corner of his eye and felt a fiery explosion slam into the raptor that was flying beneath him. The force of the impact was so great flung him out of the saddle, causing him to free fall in the air. Dante reacted instantly, pulling almost every spare sword he had from his storage as he ignored the approaching arrows. Then, he utilized his Manipulate Blade to lift the swords in his grasp, slowing his fall and pulling himself away from the trajectory of the arrows that were streaking toward him. A sideways glance at his raptor confirmed it was dead, or soon it be dead if it wasn¡¯t already. Its entire stomach was charred where it absorbed the impact of the blast, and it was unmoving as it fell freely toward the ground with nothing to slow its fall. Dante watched the raptor fall into the camp grounds as he gently reached the ground himself. He took a few deep breaths to regain his composure and calm his quickly beating heart. That was close. Too close. ¡°That raptor was expensive.¡± Victoria had reacted faster than the rest of the combatants that were beginning to encircle him, most of them were still drawing their weapons as they eyed him warily. She waved them off, causing the combatants to put away their weapons. They didn¡¯t disperse though. Dante looked up at Victoria. If he was judging things solely from her expression, he wouldn¡¯t have thought a single thing was amiss. ¡°What in the hell is going on?¡± ¡°Dear brother!¡± Jayden broke into the encirclement. He also seemed unusually calm given the situation. ¡°Thank goodness you¡¯re back. These imbeciles are trying to kill me.¡± Following just behind Jayden was Addison, Warlord Vidal¡¯s daughter. It was nice to see that someone was actually worried about the situation at hand. Addison looked like she had aged several years in the six days he had been gone, and when she looked at him, it was as though she was gazing at her savior. It was more than just a little bit uncomfortable to see a person that was in a state of desolation look at him in that way. Jayden completely ignored Addison¡¯s presence as he looked between Victoria and him pointedly. ¡°Dear brother, I would advise that the three of us leave at once. Staying with these fatuous ingrates is far beneath us.¡± The glare that Addison gave Jayden was enough for Jayden to perceive imminent physical danger, because he practically threw himself behind Dante, using him as a shield to block her wrath. Addison retracted her glare as she looked at Dante. ¡°We really need to talk. Please follow me.¡± That was fairly obvious. Dante followed Addison, and Jayden strutted confidently by his side as though he hadn¡¯t been hiding from Addison only moments ago. Victoria followed as well, silently. Other than the mention of the raptor shortly after he landed, she hadn¡¯t spoken. It was obvious that he was expected to handle this on his own. After a brief walk through the camp, the four of them stepped into Warlord Vidal¡¯s massive tent, which was surprisingly empty. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that there was a mana fluctuation around Victoria, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder what she was doing.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Dante asked the first question that was on his mind. ¡°Where is Warlord Vidal?¡± ¡°Incapacitated.¡± Jayden quickly got out an answer before Addison could reply. Addison paused to glare at Jayden before answering for herself. ¡°Shortly after you left father was hit by a poisoned arrow in a surprise attack aimed at our command station on the main front. Your master was able to halt the poison¡¯s progress, but he is still in critical condition.¡± He couldn¡¯t help but wonder how Jayden¡¯s position had changed so drastically after he left. It had only been six days, and in that time, Jayden somehow went from being beaten by the Warriors in the Redwing unit and begging Tabitha for to heal him, to freely angering Addison and joining in on their conversation as he pleased. ¡°And that caused¡­¡± Dante motioned with his hand in an all-encompassing gesture. ¡°This?¡± Jayden crossed his arms over his chest, looking quite smug. ¡°Yes, Miss Addison. What caused this?¡± Dante locked eyes Addison, she looked like she would rather die than answer Jayden¡¯s question. ¡°After father fell to the arrow, the best that the healers at the main front could do was slow the spread of the poison. As soon as it became clear that he wouldnt recover I took advantage of the chaotic battle and ordered a retreat before the mercenary leaders could find out what was wrong and try to sieze command from him. Since our return, your master has treated him in an effort to stabalize his position.¡± Dante could only look at Addison in disbelief. ¡°You retreated¡­ with everyone?¡± She should have at least left a stalling force, or scouts to monitor the enemies movements and give warnings to the other forces stationed outside of the main encampment. There still would have been losses, but no where near the number that they were currently facing. Addison gave a despondent nod in reply. Dante rubbed his eyes. All of the pieces started to click into place, and everything that transpired was beginning to make far more sense. Instead of taking advantage of his enemy¡¯s rout, Warlord Karabell had most likely moved his entire force to the western front to decimate the troops stationed there. Dante could only be thankful that he had sent the Redwing unit to the eastern front before he left. ¡°So Warlord Karabell attacked the western front with the troops he had at the main front?¡± Jayden nodded quickly as he glared at Addison in indignation. ¡°Precisely. They then moved on the eastern front, intent on butchering the remainder of our army stationed outside the camp. If I hadn¡¯t reacted promptly and recalled all of our forces stationed there, narrowly reaching the camp before we were caught, the number of casualties would have been even more catastrophic. And what do I get for my efforts? An order to be executed as soon as I return.¡± Jayden spoke in exasperation, making a show of how wronged he was. Dante¡¯s eyebrows knit. Knowing Jayden, he had just received half of the full story. Not to mention the fact that he clearly hadn¡¯t been executed. ¡°What is he talking about?¡± Addison¡¯s eyes seemed to bore into Jayden as she stared him down. By her posture, it was obvious that she was restraining herself. ¡°He omitted the small detail of him assassinating all of our mercenary leaders that were stationed at the eastern front. Leaving that aside, he should have already been killed for stealing all of our essence crystal reserves.¡± Jayden waved a hand dismissively. ¡°The morons didn¡¯t listen to my warning. Besides, we only killed thirty-four people. How they even achieved such a high-ranking position is beyond me.¡± Addison looked like she was about to explode, but Dante cut her off. ¡°Where is your father, and who is issuing the orders now that he has fallen ill?¡± Addison didn¡¯t even bother to stop glaring at Jayden. ¡°Father is currently resting in his bed, he only has enough strength to appear for a few minutes every day. Everyone knows that he is weak, but no one knows the extent of it. So far, everyone has accepted my command with the expectations of him quickly recovering.¡± Dante pondered for several seconds. Addison was clearly unfit to lead, especially after such a massive mistake. He glanced at Victoria, who was watching everything that transpired in silence. She shook her head, as though answering his silent question of whether or not she would take charge. Dante let out a sigh. ¡°Until your father recovers, I¡¯ll be taking command of the camp.¡± Addison opened her mouth to speak, but Dante continued. ¡°You will return to the post that you occupied previously.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t just-¡± ¡°Do you think I want to? I think we both know that you''re unfit to lead, and if anyone else takes command your father will be killed long before he recovers.¡± Dante kept his tone neutral, trying convince her with reason. This entire situation was going to give him a headache. Giving command to one of the other mercenary leaders would have been the ideal option. There were too many possible consequences though, and not just for Addison. Not only would she be killed immediately, but it was also impossible to predict the actions of a newly appointed warlord. Addison reluctantly nodded in agreement. ¡°Very well. I¡¯ll go organize the defense.¡± Addison spun and exited the tent. Jayden watched the entire scene unfold in schadenfreude. Dante shifted his attention to him. ¡°Who helped you kill the leaders of the mercenary groups?¡± The obvious answer was the Redwing unit, but they shouldn¡¯t have been enough. To kill thirty-four higher ranking leaders, all of them would need to be attacked at the same time. Otherwise everyone would be on alert after the first few were killed, it would make killing the rest impossible. Jayden still maintained the attitude of being the victim. ¡°Dear brother, the conscripted troops Addison dispatched weren¡¯t too keen on getting butchered after I explained the situation to them. They made things rather simple, and are the reason my head wasn¡¯t lopped off when we returned the camp yesterday.¡± Dante let out another sigh. ¡°They still listen to you?¡± Jayden nodded happily. Jayden had actually created his own faction within the army. It was no wonder that Addison could only endure him. ¡°You¡¯ll handle the logistics and day to day operations. Leave the defense of the camp to Addison and whoever was already in charge.¡± Jayden¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change, it was like Dante¡¯s words were to be expected. ¡°I understand.¡± Dante gestured at Victoria. ¡°If you try to act against the camp, or expand your authority in any way, one of us will hunt you down and kill you. No matter how far you run.¡± More than likely, he would be acting alone if he decided to try and kill Jayden, but Jayden didnt need to know that. Jayden scoffed. ¡°Dear brother, I¡¯m not sure what kind of person you think I am. How could you question my loyalty? I am the embodiment of integrity, and would never act against you as long as you treat me in good faith.¡± Dante rolled his eyes as he pointed to the tent¡¯s door flap. ¡°Yes, yes. I have the utmost faith in your character. Now leave.¡± ¡°How could you not?¡± Jayden smugly strutted out of the tent. Now that they were alone in the tent, Dante looked at Victoria. ¡°Well?¡± She looked him up and down. ¡°You handled everything well, but you seem different. Did something happen in Sloria?¡± That gave him pause. Dante re-examined his actions since entering the camp. He might have been slightly more forceful than usual, but other than that he didn¡¯t think anything else was different. It was possible that he was still adjusting after leaving Sloria. When he was in the city, he had put on something of a persona to help him move around more freely. It had started when he acted cheery to get information about the first lady from those waiting to get into the city, and continued when he tried to charm Elizabeth, Leah, and Candice so that he could enter the Combatant¡¯s Hall quickly. After that, there wasn¡¯t really a way or reason to change it. Dante shrugged. ¡°Quite a lot happened actually, but we can talk about that later. Why did you let everything fall apart after I left?¡± Victoria let out a brief snort. ¡°Actually, the situation is far more stabilized than it was before. Warlord Vidal was far too aggressive as the weaker side. Now that he is out of the picture, we can just turtle in this camp for a few months. Warlord Karabell won¡¯t make too big of a move, and will try and wait us out instead.¡± ¡°What about Jayden? If he makes one move against us it will be disastrous. Even now, if I deal with him we would likely lose a majority of the conscripted troops that were at the eastern front. That would give Warlord Karabell the edge he needs to end things.¡± ¡°He won¡¯t.¡± Victoria spoke with certainty. Her immediate answer surprised him. ¡°How do you know?¡± Victoria shrugged, and there was a hint of a smile on the corner of her lips. As though she thought something was amusing. ¡°It may surprise you, but he didn¡¯t tell a single lie after entering this tent. I was also worried about him ruining things.¡± Dante froze. It didn¡¯t take a genius to understand the implications of what she said. And it would explain the mana fluctuations that surrounded her after they entered the tent. He couldn¡¯t help but frown as he thought back to all of their previous conversations that they had before he could sense mana. He decided not to ask her about the skill though, just seeing the amused smile on her face was enough to stop him from doing that. ¡°What about Warlord Vidal?¡± ¡°What about him?¡± Dante rolled his eyes. His reason for asking was obvious. ¡°When will he be fully recovered?¡± Victoria didn¡¯t bat an eyelash. ¡°He won¡¯t recover. I managed to slow the poison, but he only has around a year left if I continue to sustain him. Plenty of time for us to finish up here.¡± Dante couldn¡¯t help but wince as he thought about Addison. From what he could tell, she fully expected him to recover eventually. ¡°So, what now?¡± ¡°Now, we train.¡± Chapter 102 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 102 After arriving back at the camp, the days passed by rather quickly. Which was to be expected when he spent almost all of his free time training with Victoria until he was exhausted. Between learning the third level of the spectral attunement, training with various weapons, and improving his lackluster alchemy skills, there was always something to learn or improve on. When she was done with him, he suffered through the lack of sleep and attempted enchanting. ¡®Attempted¡¯ being the operating word. After a few weeks of scattered practice he had almost zero progress to show for it. Drawing the runes became easy, eventually, but getting some effect out of them proved to be quite a challenge. Every time he fed world essence into a rune he drew, the weapon would immediately break apart. Sometimes they would even disintegrate altogether. He was just thankful that the weapons didn¡¯t explode like when he began world essence manipulation with Archie. He was running out of swords though. The ones he created with Create Blade didn¡¯t take to the enchantment powder like a regular sword would, which made sense. After all, the upgrade for Create Blade when he last specialized Blademancer explicitly stated that it would allow for his blades to be enchanted. Despite running out of the weapons in his storage, Dante didn¡¯t take more from the army¡¯s supply. Resources were already far too limited, and it wasn¡¯t worth the waste when he wasn¡¯t making any progress. The lack of weapons to enchant freed up some time in his schedule for testing. Testing his Blood Essence Absorption skill in particular. The first thing he discovered was that he could pull blood directly from a body without injuring that person first. All he had to do was place his uncovered hand against a person¡¯s skin and activate the skill. And from collecting blood from a few prisoners, he confirmed it worked even if the target was alive. Their constitution did slow things down slightly if there wasn¡¯t an open wound though. He also found out that a draining a person fully didn¡¯t matter. Only the first few seconds did. Each person gave him one blood essence per Classification, which he still hadn¡¯t found a use for. He did find a prisoner with a Classification he didn¡¯t have though. Draining the blood from the prisoner gave him a new symbol, this one on his wrist instead of his hand. It wasn¡¯t too eye catching on its own, but since his glove didn¡¯t extend that far it was clearly visible and made wearing shirts with long sleeves necessary. The new Classification symbol also changed the number next to his Blood Immortal Classification to 51, and made the maximum blood essence he could have 51 as well. Besides his regular training, Dante also involved himself in every skirmish they had with Warlord Karabell¡¯s army. The attacks came infrequently, as Warlord Karabell was trying to starve them out and minimalize his losses, but every time their sense of alertness lowered a raiding force was sent to harass them. Those exchanges were brief, and the losses on both sides rarely totaled over one hundred, but they were still an excellent opportunity for him to hone his skills. Fighting with his new senses was¡­ strange. And overwhelming. In large-scale fights, it was hard to know which mana belonged to his allies and which mana belonged to his enemies. Victoria had to bail him out more than once, especially in the first few fights. It only took him three weeks and more than a few battles to earn the 19,000 world essence that he needed to specialize his Bladmancer Classification. And when provided the option, he chose to upgrade Create Blade. Upgrade Create Blade to Create Advanced Blade: Created weapons can now be manually enchanted. New Maximum Mana: 100 The specialization also brought a change in the attributes he received every time he leveled his Blademancer Classification. He now received 2 Dexterity, 1 Intelligence, and 1 Wisdom per level. It was slightly annoying, as he had been hoping to increase his Wisdom after losing his attribute monster crystal. The Dexterity increase also didn¡¯t make much sense to him, at least in correlation to the skill he chose to upgrade. Aside from the Create Blade¡¯s upgrade, the other choices were somewhat interesting. Especially Manipulate Blade¡¯s upgrade, which increased the speed by 50 feet per second. Upgrade Manipulate Blade to Accelerated Manipulate Blade: Gives the ability to control created blades through the creator¡¯s will. Mana Cost: 2 per second for every blade controlled Maximum Range: 75 feet Maximum speed: 250 feet per second Blade Barricade: Create a wall of blades to block incoming attacks, will also impale physical attackers. Mana Cost: 10 per secondThis tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Barricade Size: 10-foot x 10-foot wall Phantom Blade: Create a phantom weapon from mana. Weapon can pass through all non-world essence or mana attacks or objects in accordance to the users will. Mana Cost: 15 per second The choice hadn¡¯t been an easy one, but after talking it over with Victoria, the two of them decided that Create Blade¡¯s upgrade was the best choice. Not only would the upgrade be immediately useful for enchanting, but the future upgrades for the skill also had high potential. After specializing his Classification, Dante immediately tested his upgraded skill. The weapons he created were different than before. Not only did the craftsmanship in the way that the blades were forged appear to be of a finer quality, but even the type of metal they were created from seemed to have changed. Instead of being an almost steel like substance material as they were before, the weapons were now made of a slightly darker material that almost looked grey. And after testing it with enchanting powder, Dante discovered that there was a new awareness that he had when he tried to enchant the weapons he created. Specializing his Blademancer Classification also brought other changes. Not only did his sensitivity to world essence and mana increase, but there was also a new and uncomfortable feeling. He didn¡¯t know what it was, but there was always¡­ something that was bothering him. It was subtle and never went away. He had asked Victoria about it, but she didn¡¯t have any knowledge about what it could be. After sorting through all of the new changes, Dante wholeheartedly threw himself back into his training. And as time passed, he went through a qualitative change in almost every possible aspect. He mastered the third level of the spectral attunement in the span of only three short months, completely shocking Victoria. The third level focused on increased control, allowing him to deftly and abruptly change the direction of his movement midstride. It also reduced the impact of his movement, easing the strain on his muscles and joints while also reducing the noise that each step produced. The third level alone made his capabilities on the battlefield dramatically increase, as well as increased the time he could stay in combat while using the spectral attunement. He then spent the four months that came after working on the fourth level of the spectral attunement, which was the last level he was able to learn without being an actual member of the guild. His progress, although staggeringly fast according to Victoria, was miniscule. The fourth level of the spectral attunement was the same as the previous levels in essence, but such a description didn¡¯t do it justice. To master it, one¡¯s control needed to be ridiculously precise. The aim was to maintain the speed of the previous levels, but to drastically increase the control and mobility. When Victoria demonstrated it for him she mesmerizingly and silently glided across the floor, each step was so delicate that even the grass underneath her feet was undamaged where she stepped. It¡¯s usefulness in assassination missions was obvious for all to see, and he was beginning to understand how the spectral attunement got its name. Needless to say, fully comprehending and completing the fourth level was currently beyond him. Other than working with Victoria on the spectral attunement, the two of them also worked on his proficiencies with various weapons. They mainly focused on his spear or sword and dagger combo, drastically increasing his performance with both them. He also began training with a third style of fighting, one that was focused on Victoria¡¯s insidious dagger techniques. ¡®Insidious¡¯ was the only way to describe them. All it took was a momentary lapse in an opponent¡¯s judgement, a break in their concentration, or a hole in their guard. If any of those mistakes occurred, they would be mercilessly maimed or killed. There were no exceptions. Once the attack was initiated, it had to be carried out to the fullest effect, or the attacker would be in a disadvantageous position and suffer a counterattack. Using the two daggers and Victoria¡¯s technique to quickly slaughter his enemies, Dante wreaked absolute havoc on the battlefield. His ability in alchemy also increased by leaps and bounds. Not only did he completely master tier one pill recipes, but his success rate with tier two was also well above 50%. Even some of the simpler tier three recipes weren¡¯t out of his reach. He made great use of his new alchemic ability by creating dozens of tier two Inutilia pills. The pills didn¡¯t have a massive effect if consumed, in fact, many would consider them to be a waste of effort and resources. But for practicing his alchemy, they weren¡¯t a bad option. Each pill would heal his body for half an HP point if consumed. With the number he had, he could consume them all at once if he needed a single quick heal. Other than those, he pumped out a lesser form of the evil energy pills that Victoria made him eat. He didn¡¯t eat a single one though, just gave them to Jayden so that they could be distributed among the guards that were on patrol. His skill in enchanting also rose with practice, and the help of his upgraded Create Blade skill. For some reason, he had a far greater understanding when it came to the runes¡¯ size and positioning. It allowed him to make tier one enchantments in a way that usually didn¡¯t break the weapons that he enchanted. Dante tried testing several different types of runes, even the blood rune, but the impact rune that Leah had recommended worked the best by far. He could place the runes on a weapon, fill the enchantment with world essence, then launch them at the enemy to greatly increase the force that the weapons had upon impact. The impact rune¡¯s effectiveness was somewhat varied. Sometimes he would draw the rune well, and the weapons that were enchanted could easily punch through mana shields and armor without slowing. But other times, the rune would be drawn with the slightest mistake and the effects it produced were negligible. It was a problem he was still trying to correct when he ran out of enchantment powder. Dante¡¯s position as a commander also became unquestionable as he progressed in his training, which in turn further eroded Warlord Vidal''s authority. It wasn¡¯t just from the respect that was given to an officer who fought side by side with his men on the frontlines. It was also the fear he evoked in others. It wasn¡¯t his red world essence or mana, which were enough to make hardened men mutter prayers to the Goddess under their breath, nor was it his surprisingly young age. It was the way he fought that truly caused them to be frozen with terror. It didn¡¯t matter who it was, there was only one result for those who fought him on the battlefield. Death. He was just beginning to become comfortable with his new lifestyle when Victoria told him that it was time to wrap things up. Seven months had passed since he returned to the camp from Sloria, eleven since Victoria had signed the mana contract for his fight with Jace. It was almost time to return to Dead Man¡¯s Range and fight for the dungeon. Minor Edits Edit Notes Chapter 86: Increased the feeling of severity in regard to Jayden¡¯s crimes. Originally, he was going to be tortured and executed, but Addison set him free as soon as Dante asked. Now, Addison is far more reluctant and says that she cant allow him off without punishment or some form of compensation. Dante promises to punish Jayden, but not to compensate, and Addison eventually lets Jayden off reluctantly. Also added a small mention of Jayden being physically abused by the Warriors of the redwing unit. Chapter 101: Mentions that Warlord Vidal was hit by the poisoned arrow when the enemy launched a surprise attack on their command station on the main front. Changed Addison¡¯s reason for retreating. Was ¨C father was sick and wanted to heal him. Now ¨C Father fell, and I had to utilize the chaos of battle to hide his condition and retreat before the other mercenary leaders tried to seize command. Also changed it to mention that the healers could only slow the poison, and Victoria managed to help heal him of the poison for the purpose of helping to stabilize his power after they returned.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Dante still thinks the entire western front being wiped out was Addison¡¯s fault, at least partially. Thinking that she should have left behind a small force to stall, or at least a few scouts to monitor the enemy and give warnings to the other armies to mitigate losses. When Dante asked where Warlord Vidal is and who is currently in command, Addison states that her father is currently in bed resting, and only has the strength to appear for a few minutes every day. She also says that she is in command, but everyone listens to her orders because they expect Warlord Vidal to make a quick recovery. When Dante put Jayden in charge of the camp, he now specifies that Jayden is solely in charge of logistics, and that the defense of the camp is to be left to Addison and whoever else was already in charge. He also mentions that if Jayden tries to further expand his authority in any way, Dante would kill him. Slight expansion to the reasoning Dante took command instead of leaving it to a random mercenary leader other than Addison was added. Pretty much, not only would Addison/Warlord Vidal be killed, but it would also create too many possible variables depending on how the new Warlord chose to fight (or not fight) against Warlord Karabell. Chapter 102: Added a small segment to the end of a sentence. ¡°Dante¡¯s position as a commander also became unquestionable as he progressed in his training, which in turn further eroded Warlord Vidal''s authority.¡± Also, small note. I havent expanded on it yet, but I''ll be adding small details to things that happened in chapter 102 slowly in upcomming chapters. Among them will be a few of the struggles Dante faced taking over as commander (and some of the decisions/orders he''s made since then), as people were also questioning how he did it so easily. Chapter 103 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 103 After he finished talking with Victoria, Dante stepped out of her tent and made his way to where Warlord Vidal was resting. The usual scene greeted him as he stepped through the camp. Anyone who saw him, regardless of their position, stopped and acknowledged him. Some saluted, some nodded to him, and the others just muttered about him with those around them ¨C either talking about his escapades in reverence or his demonic presence in fear. At first, the treatment was somewhat uncomfortable. It felt like no matter where he went every eye was drawn to him, and more than one was looking for a weakness to exploit. But as time went on he had become used to it. Now he faced such a scene with indifference. Dante stepped between two sections of tents, taking himself off of the main road and shortening the route to his destination. When he had first arrived at the camp, each section of tents had flags waving through the air to indicate whose group the section belonged to. Those flags were now gone, and the mercenary groups had long been broken up. It wasn¡¯t something he had wanted to do initially, but it was necessary. After a month without change in Warlord Vidal¡¯s poor health, it became apparent to the other mercenary leaders that the Warlord position was up for grabs. It was fortunate that the three factions that arose targeted each other and not him. It made dealing with them fairly simple. He just utilized the remaining mercenary groups, which stayed loyal to him and Warlord Vidal, along with the conscripted troops that Jayden had basically subjugated. With their overwhelming numbers, seizing the rebellious leaders one by one was a simple matter that was carried out without conflict. And having them executed was even easier. After that, he broke up all of the mercenary groups. Placing the combatants that were in opposing factions in the same units as each other, along with those who stayed loyal and the conscripted combatants. The entire camp had been restructured. Needless to say, no one liked the change. There was even discontent among those leaders who had remained loyal, as their influence was completely obliterated in the span of a few days. They couldn¡¯t do anything about it though. With all of the opposing forces being a part of the same unit, everything shifted into a stalemate. There wasn¡¯t enough coordination in the units to rebel, and all of the people who could have lead them were long dead. Dante stepped inside of Warlord Vidal¡¯s tent and was immediately assaulted by the thick herbal smell of the medicines that were being administered to him. Warlord Vidal was laying in a plush bed as he received his treatment from a healer, and to say that he resembled a corpse would be a gross understatement. In fact, finding a corpse that was in such a terrible state would be quite the challenge. As Dante stepped into the tent Warlord Vidal smiled, which was sickening. His white teeth used to make him look extremely charming, but now that his skin was almost the same color as them, he just looked ghastly. Making the entire scene worse was the amount of weight he lost, which made him look skeletal while also emphasizing his sunken eyes and hair loss, which allowed Dante to easily see his sickly-looking scalp through his wispy hair. Dante resisted his urge to recoil. ¡°Greetings warlord.¡± Warlord Vidal sat up with great effort and spoke in the weak and raspy voice that was a product of his weakened state. ¡°Ah, Dante. Welcome.¡± He looked at the healer that was administrating his medicine. ¡°Please leave us.¡± The healer nodded respectfully and placed her things down gently before stepping out of the tent. As soon as the tent flap fell back into place, Warlord Vidal slumped back down onto his bed, his earlier attempt at charm was completely gone. ¡°What do you want?¡± Now that the healer was gone, Warlord Vidal¡¯s voice, despite being raspy, was full of irritation at being bothered. Dante wasn¡¯t offended by it, he had gotten to know the real Warlord Vidal in the past couple of months. Behind the charismatic charm was a very ambitious and driven person. Now that all of his ambitions had crumbled into nothing like his poisoned body, he was more than just a little bit bitter. ¡°Victoria and I are preparing to leave.¡±This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Warlord Vidal didn¡¯t react at all. ¡°Your contract expired over three months ago, you can go whenever you like.¡± That reminded him that he still hadn¡¯t been paid for his contributions to the war effort after coming to the camp, but didn¡¯t bother to bring it up. According to the original contract, his reward should have totaled well over 200,000 world essence worth of crystals, but he new better than anyone that he wouldn¡¯t get paid. There wasn¡¯t even 100 world essence worth of crystals in the camp, much less 200,000. Dante brushed that thought aside. Victoria had told him to wrap things up in two weeks, and there were multiple ways to accomplish that. The most obvious would be to lead their combatants out of the encampment and break through Warlord Karabell¡¯s forces as they made their escape. The losses would be extreme though. By his best estimates, only half of their 60,000 force would make it out before Warlord Karabell¡¯s spread out forces would collapse upon them and seal their escape. That wasn¡¯t acceptable, he had become close to many of the combatants that fought by his side. Sacrificing them in such a large number was out of the question. Aside from that, he didn¡¯t even know where he would lead them. Warlord Vidal had already heavily conscripted and pilfered from his territory in anticipation of the war. There wasn¡¯t anything left to aid them. Another option would be to appoint a new leader prior to leaving. That would only be a temporary solution though. Even with their heavy rationing, their supplies wouldn¡¯t last more than a month. Warlord Karabell had already stopped their raiding by moving all of his supplies well behind the front lines. Without him going out periodically on Victoria¡¯s raptor to collect grain with his storage skill, getting more food wasn¡¯t really an option. An all out decisive battle would also be incredibly stupid, and only lead to needless losses. Moreover, winning such a fight would be close to impossible. So, he decided that surrender was the best option. Their position was still strong, and Warlord Karabell wouldn¡¯t be able to conquer their encampment without taking massive losses. Therefore, the conditions they could receive would be favorable. There was just one problem. In the wastelands, no matter the circumstances, the warlord of the surrendering side would be executed, often publicly and after shaming or torture. It was the reason that most of them purposefully lost their lives in combat when they were close to losing. Dante broached the subject carefully. ¡°I¡¯ve become somewhat attached to the combatants in your army, and I would prefer not to leave them in an unfavorable situation after I depart.¡± Warlord Vidal¡¯s eyes came into focus as he looked at him with startling clarity. ¡°Meaning?¡± Warlord Vidal appeared to understand his intentions, so Dante didn¡¯t beat around the bush. ¡°I think that the best solution would be to negotiate our surrender.¡± Warlord Vidal closed his eyes as he let out a sigh. In that brief moment, he seemed to have become even more sickly. ¡°You want to kill me.¡± It wasn¡¯t a question. Well, things had just become awkward. ¡°Not directly¡­ I¡¯ve come to give you the option. You must know that you are going to die anyways.¡± Dante pulled a pill out of his pocket. ¡°It can be painless.¡± Victoria had given him the poison. If Warlord Vidal took the purple colored pill it he would fall asleep long before the effects of the poison kicked in. Warlord Vidal¡¯s preemptive death wasn¡¯t really necessary, but it would be better for everyone involved. For Warlord Vidal, it would mean avoiding a public execution at the hands of his enemies. For Addison, it would mean not watching such a scene. For him, it would mean easier negotiations, as Warlord Karabell would be eager to absorb their forces before someone else stepped forward as warlord. And for their combatants, it would mean a seamless transition into a structured force, which would eliminate any of the needless deaths that a power struggle would cause. Warlord Vidal knew all of this. Just the act of him living would complicate things. Besides, if he tried to surrender without Warlord Vidal¡¯s consent, there would still be unrest from the few loyal forces in the camp. Warlord Vidal locked eyes with him. Looking into his eyes, Dante could see that he had already resigned himself to death. ¡°Do you think that I would continue to suffer through this degradation if I was the only one relying on my survival?¡± Warlord Vidal reached forward and grabbed the purple colored pill, inspecting it with a morose expression. His meaning was obvious. If Warlord Vidal was killed, Addison would quickly follow him. Keeping her alive was too large of a risk from the enemy¡¯s perspective. That wasn¡¯t something that Dante wanted though. His relationship with Addison was rather good after spending so much time fighting side by side with her. Besides, she had been through too much in the past year, and things would only be worse after her father died. ¡°I¡¯ll make Addison¡¯s safety a priority in my negotiations. And if worst comes to worst, I¡¯ll do my best to bring her away safely.¡± Warlord Vidal didn¡¯t look away from the poisonous pill. He stared at it for several minutes as he lost himself in thought before finally speaking. ¡°I want it in writing. Show me a mana contract, and I¡¯ll do as you¡¯ve suggested.¡± Dante nodded. ¡°Of course.¡± That was reasonable. After all, there was no other way for Warlord Vidal to be sure of his actions after death. Dante turned to leave the tent, but stopped just before the tent flap. ¡°I¡¯ll let you know when the preparations are finished. Should I tell Addison?¡± Warlord Vidal didn¡¯t take his eyes off of the purple pill as moisture began to collect in his eyes and threaten to spill over. ¡°No, I¡¯ll tell her.¡± Dante let out a sigh as he stepped out of the tent. Chapter 104 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 104 Dante immediately went to his command tent after leaving Warlord Vidal. As soon as he got there, he addressed Samson, one of the few retainers he kept around to pass on messages. ¡°Samson, go find Jayden and send him to me. Then tell Addison to go see her father.¡± Samson saluted to him. ¡°Sir.¡± Then he walked away to carry out his task. Dante sat down behind his desk and drew out a piece of paper that was created specifically for mana contracts. Time was of the essence, so he wanted to get Warlord Vidal out of the way quickly. He had two weeks to finish negotiations and find a place for Addison to live safely. The further away the better. If she decided to get revenge on the people who poisoned her father things could only end badly. He drew up the mana contract, making sure to leave it vague so he wouldn¡¯t be restricted by it. He stated that he would make Addison¡¯s safety a priority during negotiations, and if he was unable to accomplish that, he would bring her away and help her find a place to settle down. Upon doing so, the contract would be considered complete and he would have no further obligations. He also added a few clauses that would help in precarious situations. Namely, the ability to prioritize his safety over Addison¡¯s if need be. He fully intended to help her, but there was no way he would give his life to do so if something that he couldn¡¯t anticipate happened. When he finished, Dante signed his name at the bottom, completing the contract. There was no need for Warlord Vidal to do anything, as the contract solely placed obligations on him alone. Dante then waited for Jayden, which didn¡¯t take long. Jayden stepped into the tent with his usual calm, yet somehow exaggerated presence. ¡°Dear brother, have you finally decided to act?¡± Dante looked up from his reports and did his best to restrain a smile. Jayden was wearing a new scarf, and like all the others, this one had several errors in the stitching. Tabitha was improving at the very least, her newly knitted items had far less mistakes that they used to. Which was to be expected, because every time he left the camp she made him buy her more yarn to knit with. ¡°You could say that. Why are you still wearing those things?¡± Jayden looked down at his scarf with a small amount of dissatisfaction. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that if I didn¡¯t support Miss Tabitha, her frail heart would be unable to bear the blow.¡± Dante didn¡¯t know what to say, so he just nodded in agreement. ¡°Anyways¡­ Victoria has decided that we need to leave in the next two weeks, so I¡¯ll need to finish things here in that time frame.¡± Jayden slumped down into the chair across from him with an exaggerated sigh, as though a massive weight had been lifted from his shoulders. A satisfied smile was on his face. ¡°Thank the Goddess. I thought I was going to be worked to death. The two-week timeline is somewhat troubling though, I¡¯m afraid that only seven of my original forty-three plans can be implemented and completed within two weeks.¡± Dante rolled his eyes. Jayden had come up with dozens of plans to completely defeat their enemy, but all of them would be completely disastrous for everyone involved. Among them was wide scale poisoning, spreading diseases through the enemy¡¯s encampment, and even leading other Warlords toward them. And those were some of the tamer options. ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary, I¡¯ve decided to surrender.¡± Jayden paused, which was a first. Then his eyes wandered slightly before he looked back at Dante. ¡°Dear brother, our reputation would be completely tarnished. Why don¡¯t we just wipe out the enemy before we set out?¡± Dante frowned as he heard the words ¡®we set out¡¯, but ignored it for the time being. ¡°That would be pointless. Besides, what reputation do we have?¡± If Warlord Vidal was in good health, he likely would¡¯ve tried to win the war instead of just using it to get ample combat experience. It was pointless now though. If he won it wouldn¡¯t even matter. Someone he didn¡¯t know would just become the warlord and reap the benefits of the slaughter he would carry out. Even Jayden was against the idea of assuming a position of power. Jayden was aghast. ¡°How could you ask such a question after I put so much work into building the two of us up in the eyes of the common man? Even the enemy trembles when the two of us gather.¡± Dante narrowed his eyes, but Jayden continued. ¡°Besides, surrendering would be far too tedious. There is too much groundwork required. And the most significant challenge would be killing Warlord Vidal prior to engaging in negotiations so that things would go smoother, which would then cause unrest among those who are still loyal to him.¡±This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Dante nodded in agreement. ¡°Warlord Vidal has already agreed to end his own life, the contingency being Addison¡¯s safety. I have already agreed to help her escape this predicament.¡± Jayden looked like he was going to say something in regard to Addison, but seemed to have thought better of it. The two of them definitely didn¡¯t get along. ¡°There are still other problems. Carter, Jaric, and Soryn will also need to be offed. They are the ones who are most likely to sabotage the negotiations.¡± ¡°That is why I called you in here. Invite them in for a meeting about new rationing regulations and have them killed. Also, get rid of Crassus and Gius. I doubt they would make a move so openly, but it would be better to eliminate all possible threats.¡± All of the men they had designated opposed his or Warlord Vidal¡¯s authority, mostly covertly. The three that Jayden mentioned in particular still had enough influence to contend for the warlord position if he left, making them the biggest threat while negotiating a surrender. Jayden nodded in understanding. ¡°Very well. I am curious though. Shouldn¡¯t such matters usually be delegated to Miss Addison?¡± ¡°She is going to be busy, possibly for the next few days.¡± He wasn¡¯t sure what state of mind Addison would be in after talking with Warlord Vidal. Jayden stood and stretched. ¡°Very well. I suppose it doesn¡¯t matter anyways. After discovering that we will be departing soon, I am suddenly filled with a newfound vigor. I¡¯ll be off.¡± As soon as Jayden stepped out of the tent Victoria appeared next to him. She seemed to be deeply contemplating something. ¡°You¡¯re just going to surrender?¡± Dante could only smile bitterly. ¡°You know I have no intention of becoming an actual assassin, right?¡± Victoria¡¯s advice when she gave him the deadline was to sneak into the enemy¡¯s encampment and silently kill all of their key leaders. It was definitely preferable to all of Jayden¡¯s plans when it came down to the overall death count, but still needlessly chaotic. He wasn¡¯t even sure if that would be possible. Victoria had taught him how to move silently and conceal himself in some of their more varied lessons, but killing off all of their leaders silently would be more than a challenge without some form of a stealth skill. Victoria smiled lightly as she rolled her eyes. ¡°That¡¯s rather obvious. Still, my intention was for you to actually win this war.¡± She sat in the chair that Jayden had just occupied. ¡°But I suppose that your choice is reasonable.¡± Dante leaned back in his chair, far more relaxed now that it was just he and Victoria in the command tent. ¡°More than reasonable. If anything, you and Jayden are the unreasonable ones. There just isn¡¯t enough gain to justify the cost of lives involved.¡± Victoria just shrugged, as though that was debatable. ¡°By the way, how much world essence do you need to specialize your Blade Dancer Classification?¡± ¡°Only a few thousand.¡± He had spread out his world essence a bit during the first few months of training, leveling all of Classifications to 15 before he leveled Blade Dancer with the intention of specialization. He leveled the others for the attributes, and chose to specialize his Blade Dancer Classification because a new killing skill or just something to aid him offensively would be a massive help in combat. Victoria tapped on the armrest of her chair in thought. ¡°We will need to stop on our way back and get that out of the way if you aren¡¯t going to engage in any more fighting here. I don¡¯t think that you will have too much of a problem against Jace, but his skills will definitely be unusual and hard to deal with. What are you going to do about Jayden?¡± Dante looked at Victoria inquisitively. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Even among strategists, he is the most remarkable I have ever met in regards to his Classification level, which is saying something. Also, he has mentioned that he intends to follow you, and his intentions appear to be pure, I think that you should consider how valuable he could be.¡± Dante scratched his chin. Jayden had been ridiculously useful in the past few months, almost unbelievably so. He still had never really considered allowing Jayden to come with him, he just didn¡¯t trust Jayden enough to not stab him in the back when it would be convenient. But if he was going to wipe out the Calmans, Jayden¡¯s planning skills would be invaluable. He was also a really good cook¡­ ¡°You think his intentions are pure?¡± His tone made his disbelief clear. Victoria nodded. ¡°I am sure of that. Besides, his reasoning for trying to get closer to you is obvious. He notices far more than you think, and you have shown him enough for him to draw several conclusions. It is only natural that he would try and tie himself to you.¡± Dante frowned. ¡°That makes me more inclined to kill him than to trust him.¡± Victoria looked amused. ¡°Usually, I would completely agree. But his character is strangely upright. For instance, he really does wear the things Tabitha makes so that he won¡¯t hurt her feelings. And he also puts a great amount of effort in taking Addison¡¯s mind away from her dying father¡­ even if his means of doing so are less than conventional.¡± Dante thought back to all of the quarreling he had to endure because of those two. Looking at it from a different perspective, what Victoria said was plausible. ¡°Is this what you do when you disappear between training sessions, watch what goes on in the camp like it¡¯s a drama?¡± Victoria shrugged. ¡°I get bored.¡± Dante rubbed his eyes. Of course. ¡°Why does an assassin even have a skill that detects lies?¡± Victoria hesitated, as though unsure of how to answer. ¡°The guild was looking for new members that could collect intel from the targets they killed. Both Melisandre and I excel in that aspect, so we were recruited.¡± He couldn¡¯t imagine how much more clients would pay an assassin if they could collect valuable information from their targets. ¡°Anyways, we are going to need more than one raptor. Do you think that you could find more?¡± ¡°Yes, but the nearest settlement that might have them is two days ride from here. You¡¯ll be alone until I get back.¡± Dante wasn¡¯t bothered by the two-day absence. ¡°That¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll try to finish things here while you¡¯re gone so that we have time to stop and collect the world essence I need to specialize my Classification.¡± Chapter 105 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 105 Three great changes happened later that night. The first, was the death of everyone with influence that opposed his authority. Jayden cleaned them up rather nicely, adding three others to the list of targets that he hadn¡¯t been aware were a problem. After thinking about their actions over the past months, he realized that Jayden was right to discard them. Shortly after came the death of Warlord Vidal. After his mana contract was delivered, and the warlord saw Addison, Warlord Vidal immediately ended his own life. No one thought much of it, even Addison thought that he had finally succumbed to the poison that had been plaguing him. The two pieces of news completely rocked the camp, bringing total unrest with them. Shortly after that, Victoria also departed on her raptor by utilizing the cover of darkness to fly out unseen. Few people were aware of that small fact though. Dante stayed up for several hours drafting his note for Warlord Karabell. The note stated his identity as a member of the guild, that Warlord Vidal had died, his intent to surrender, and the conditions he wanted as a part of the surrender. The conditions mostly included provisions for his soldiers and the ability for the conscripted troops to return to their homes if they chose to. He didn¡¯t go into too much detail though; the details would be left for the face to face negotiations. The note was sent out with a messenger at first light the following morning, and that messenger returned only hour later. The negotiation was on, and Warlord Karabell wanted to meet as soon as possible. Dante prepared himself, collecting Jayden and six of their sturdier Warriors. The Warriors that he chose weren¡¯t great offensively, but for blocking attacks they were some of the best combatants in his army. The eight of them gathered by the camp¡¯s wall, and a nod to the single geomancer stationed there caused a hole to be opened for them to walk out through. As soon as the stone wall was lowered they were greeted by the familiar sight of Warlord Karabell¡¯s army. The nearest troops were stationed roughly half a mile away, which was well out of even the furthest bow range. Between the army and the camp was Warlord Karabell, another man, and a contingent of five of his guards. Warlord Karabell seemed to have set up everything in advance, a makeshift table was placed in front of him and he was waiting for them with one other person by his side. Warlord Karabell was a man past his prime with greying hair and a strong air of command. He rarely fought, but when he did, it caused nothing but headaches for Dante¡¯s side. He was a kind of magic Classification that used his skills to drastically increase his close combat strength, and that working in conjunction with his ability to quickly create dense mana shields made him almost unkillable. Dante stepped forward with Jayden as the six Warriors surrounding them in a roughly circular formation. Both armies were on full alert. Behind him, every inch of the stone wall was covered by his combatants, every archer had an arrow knocked, and all of them were waiting for some indication of danger that would force them to act. In front of them, Warlord Karabell¡¯s army was behaving similarly. Every eye was trained on him as they walked to the negotiation table. They only took a dozen steps before Jayden spoke. ¡°Something isn¡¯t right.¡± Dante didn¡¯t react visibly to Jayden¡¯s barely audible words, but he did sharpen his vision as he inspected Warlord Karabell. Nothing seemed to be amiss. The person in front of him was definitely the opposing warlord. He had fought him to a stalemate on more than one occasion, so it wasn¡¯t possible that he could be mistaken. After inspecting Warlord Karabell, Dante shifted his attention to the five combatants by his side. None of them seemed out of the ordinary. And no matter how hard he concentrated, there wasn¡¯t the slightest fluctuation of mana or world essence. Dante then scanned the vicinity for anything unusual and was unable to discern what had caused Jayden¡¯s apprehension. Dante spoke quietly, but in a way that would appear casual to those who were watching. ¡°What is it?¡± Jayden¡¯s eyes roamed over Warlord Karabell and his guards several times before answering. ¡°It¡¯s the way he is looking at you.¡±Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Dante returned his gaze to Warlord Karabell. The warlord was staring at him, but if anything, his expression seemed amiable. ¡°Should we turn back?¡± Jayden lowered his voice further, this time it was so quiet that even the Warriors they brought couldn¡¯t hear. ¡°No, that would waste an excellent opportunity. He has no reason to antagonize you, so negotiations will likely go smoothly. If they don¡¯t, this would be the best time to kill Warlord Karabell. Use the Warriors as a distraction and take him out while he is isolated.¡± What Jayden said made sense. Warlord Karabell had no reason to act against him, especially since he was basically handing the camp over to him. And Dante was fairly certain that he could kill Warlord Karabell if the warlord didn¡¯t have his freakishly strong mercenary group surrounding him like he usually did in battle. He was somewhat surprised that Jayden was willing to place himself in such a potentially risky situation as a noncombat Classification. But since he didn¡¯t turn back, he must¡¯ve been confident in his ability to survive any outcome he could envision. Dante began to fill his legs full of world essence in preparation. As they neared, Warlord Karabell stood and smiled at them in a composed manner as he gestured to the chairs that were placed across from him. ¡°Ah, welcome! Please sit, I¡¯m sure that we are all eager to get started.¡± Dante inspected the chairs that were laid out. There were enough for each of his Warriors but he gestured for them to stand as he sat down. They would need to be alert. Surprisingly, Jayden sat down next to him. Had he been in Jayden¡¯s place, he certainly would have stood. Sitting down placed them in a terrible position if something went awry. As soon as he sat, Dante looked up at Warlord Karabell and the man sitting beside him with a pleasant smile. ¡°Indeed. I have been away from the guild for far too long, it will be nice to finally return.¡± Dante was still feeling out the situation, and started the conversation by reaffirming his position as well as reassuring Warlord Karabell that he had no intention of staying longer than he needed to. Warlord Karabell laughed heartily. ¡°Then we are in agreement. I don¡¯t have a home to return to, per say, but it will be nice to settle down and eat something other than the meager rations that this siege has forced upon me.¡± He turned his attention toward Jayden. ¡°I presume that this is Jayden, the famous master tactician that I have heard so much about?¡± Jayden scratched his head in mock embarrassment. ¡°You¡¯ve heard of me? How surprising.¡± Warlord Karabell waved him off. ¡°Oh please. Your reputation precedes you.¡± This was likely the work of the reputation Jayden said he had built up. It made him curious about how Jayden had managed to spread such things into their enemy¡¯s camp. As if on cue, Dante felt a nudge on his side. Jayden smiled at him, as if to say ¡®I told you so¡¯, and Dante had a sudden urge to pummel him. Jayden returned his attention to the two men across from him, the one sitting beside Warlord Karabell in particular. ¡°I am afraid that the two of you have us at a disadvantage. Both of you know our identities, but I have never had an impression of this person, despite familiarizing myself with everyone of high rank in your army. I must say, I am quite perplexed.¡± That was strange. Based on how the guards around them monitored that person, he should hold some importance. That man Jayden indicated maintained his silence as Warlord Karabell laughed. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have seen him in any battles. My son has mainly handled the logistics and planning of the army since the beginning of the siege.¡± Dante was surprised to hear that this person was the warlord¡¯s son. They did somewhat resemble each other, but the son had a far more refined appearance than his father. He almost seemed scholarly. Jayden nodded appreciatively. ¡°So he is your son, no wonder I hadn¡¯t seen him.¡± Despite Jayden remaining calm, Dante could see very minute mana fluctuations begin to flow out of his body. It wasn¡¯t like a skill activation, but like he was preparing to make a mana shield. That wasn¡¯t a good sign. Dante readied himself to either attack Warlord Karabell or flee, his own mana was in the tips of his fingers as he made the preparations to draw weapons from his storage. Warlord Karabell looked at Dante. ¡°After the brutal fight between our armies four days ago, I¡¯ve come to understand how important my family is. For them, I wouldn¡¯t mind sacrificing everything I¡¯ve built for myself. Isn¡¯t that a sentiment you could agree with, assassin?¡± Mana began to spread across Warlord Karabell¡¯s body. Dante wasn¡¯t in immediate danger though, he had seen the sight before. Warlord Karabell¡¯s physical attacks would just be bolstered, and the mana on his body could easily by converted to a shield if he sacrificed its offensive ability. Dante maintained his cordiality. ¡°I¡¯m afraid not.¡± Warlord Karabell shook his head in disappointment. ¡°What a shame. I¡¯m sure that if you had the pleasure of having sons like mine your opinion would change.¡± This time, his son began to collect mana. Dante prepared to use Blink. Dante smiled. ¡°Is that so?¡± Warlord Karabell nodded with a heavy look in his eye. ¡°Yes, one took after his mother and inherited a rare Classification that anyone would be envious of. The other took after me. He was strong headed, and the skills he chose were different than mine, but he made magnificent use of them. He had the most success out of all the captains in my army by valiantly leading every charge in the mounted unit he controlled.¡± Dante and Jayden both exploded into action, but they were too late. Warlord Karabell had prepared well, as soon as he said his son lead a mounted unit the ground beneath them completely crumbled, revealing a cavern filled with combatants bellow them. Chapter 106 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 106 Dante groaned as he looked down at the spear tips waiting to thrust into him from the cavern below. Warlord Karabell had brought the freaks from his personal mercenary group. This was so unfair. The leader of the mounted mercenary group, which he now knew was Warlord Karabell¡¯s son, had been a constant thorn in his side for months. Any time Dante had come close to eliminating him, someone else would sacrifice themselves so he would live. Because of that, that mercenary leader literally fought without fear, constantly throwing himself at their front lines and creating the most casualties on both sides. Dante had taken advantage of his stupidity by setting up an ambush and completely slaughtering him only four days ago. Also annoying, was the cavern that was excavated below them. Obviously, it was done by a Geomancer. But this area should have been monitored by his own Geomancer stationed on the wall close by. If that hadn¡¯t been the case, he would have been far more guarded against the ground below them. It meant they had a traitor. Likely a newly turned traitor too. He hadn¡¯t thought that creating unrest in the camp would be a problem if he surrendered, so he didn¡¯t hesitate to kill Warlord Vidal and remove his opposition. Unfortunately, it seemed that Warlord Karabell was already taking advantage of the chaos. Anyone who currently felt threatened in the camp would be easily converted to his side. As they began to fall, there was another change. A bubble created from mana spread out from Warlord Karabell¡¯s son and enclosed them, cutting them off from the outside world. It was a barrier skill. He and Jayden had been wondering where the mage with the projectile blocking barrier had disappeared to after they moved away from the three fronts. But after months of not seeing the mage, they had completely removed him from their mind. It appeared as though the formation of original three fronts had been dictated by Warlord Karabell¡¯s family members. The projectile blocking barrier cut them off from the combatants waiting to aid them on the wall. He had stationed more than a dozen sharpshooters there so that they would be well within range. But now they wouldn¡¯t get help until the close combat troops came in, and they would be far outpaced by Warlord Karabell¡¯s small mounted force. Dante initiated his Blink skill, which was when he discovered that the guards surrounding the warlord and his son were carefully leaking small traces of mana. It was barely noticeable, but still enough to impede the mana from his Blink skill. Dante activated the skill as he avoided the leaking mana, placing himself about three feet away from Warlord Karabell¡¯s son and initiating an attack. He was basically throwing himself into an ambush though. As soon as he appeared, Warlord Karabell and his guards collapsed upon him. Dante drew a sword and three daggers from his storage, then immediately Blinked two of the daggers about four feet behind the warlord¡¯s son before they caught his enemy¡¯s notice. After accomplishing that, he sprang into action. Dante ducked the warlord¡¯s thrust, as he was the largest offensive threat, but the five guards all simultaneously activated their skills immediately after. Two of the guards accelerated, stabbing at him with a speed that far surpassed what their attributes allowed. Dante twisted his body, narrowly avoiding one of the blades and earning a shallow gash on his left side from the other. Then the other three¡¯s attacks came. One had a molten sword, the air surrounding it was distorting from the heat. Another attacked with a translucent blue spear that appeared out of thin air. And the last attacker swung at him with what seemed to be a plain sword. The plain sword was the most lethal though. Dante felt himself physically slow as the blade approached him, almost as though the air around him had thickened, making it much harder to defend himself. Dante¡¯s dagger filled with world essence as he brought it up to the approaching molten blade. He didn¡¯t create an actual edge, that would have taken too long, but just as the dagger made contact he collapsed the world essence around the edge of the blade to harden it. The blades collided, and the impact caused the molten blade to shine blindingly as sparks flew everywhere. The sparks caused his enemies to hesitate for the briefest of moments, but it was all he needed. Dante shifted his grip on the dagger immediately, bringing it to the spear as his sword penetrated through the chest cavity of the attacker who was physically slowing him. He got to the spear a fraction of a second late, knocking it away as it stabbed into his stomach. The gash it caused was somewhat deep, but nothing life threatening or inhibiting. Dante ran world essence haphazardly into the sword buried into his attacker¡¯s chest as he withdrew it, killing him and eliminating the force that was slowing his movement. Then, he jumped backward with the aid of the world essence in his legs, placing himself on the edge of the barrier as his skin began to knit together from the kill. It also allowed him to reassess the situation. The first thing he noticed was that neither the guards or Warlord Karabell pursued him. They had extremely agitated expressions on their faces, but didn¡¯t dare leave the warlord¡¯s son or stop leaking mana to hinder his Blink skill. The warlord¡¯s son looked like he was preparing to make a difficult decision. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it If he moved toward Dante, the guards would be able to attack, but the barrier would be moved as well. The mercenaries fighting in the cavern would have no protection, and arrows would rain down on them from the wall in the distance. Inside the small cavern itself, Jayden was surprisingly alive, and in the process of ramming a dagger into the eye of one of his attackers. Surrounding him were three of the original six warriors. Each of them had their defensive skills activated and were blocking attacks. One had gravelly looking skin that was almost stone-like, another¡¯s had a coppery tint to it, and the third¡¯s skin was coated with mana in a way that was similar to Warlord Karabell - but the Warrior¡¯s skill was much weaker and solely for defense. Jayden was also surprisingly useful in the fight. He skillfully cut up every mana shield he made and flung them into the mercenaries¡¯ faces to distract them from chopping up the Warriors in front of him. He would also occasionally step forward at an opportune moment and attack an enemy, but that was rare, and he had no skills to aid him. Jayden was severely outnumbered. Ten attackers were still besieging them, and the cavern was too deep for them to try and climb out to escape. Dante then glanced at the two armies. Unsurprisingly, they were both charging toward the barrier. It was obvious that Warlord Karabell would receive his reinforcements first though. Dante created five cheap swords with extremely long handles for ten mana a piece and flung them into the cavern behind Jayden. Ordinarily, such dull swords wouldn¡¯t have a use, but they easily buried themselves into the dirt wall behind Jayden, making a makeshift ladder for him to try and escape. After that, Dante renewed his focus onto the warlord¡¯s son. If he could get the barrier down his archers would be able to easily cover their escape. Plus, there was the added bonus of making the warlord deeply regret his actions before he was killed as well, which definitely sounded ideal after being ambushed like this. Surrender was no longer an option, they had to either wipe out or subjugate the enemy. Dante dashed toward Warlord Karabell, making it look like the warlord was his intended target. The action immediately collected the attention of the guards as well, and Dante began to manipulate the daggers he had blinked behind the warlord¡¯s son while they were distracted. As Dante engaged the warlord, fighting on the edge of where the guards could move while also protecting the warlord¡¯s son with the leaked mana, Dante moved the two daggers away with Manipulate Blade. Then, when the daggers reached the edge of the barrier he pulled them toward the warlord¡¯s son. He didn¡¯t need to actually see the warlord¡¯s son die, the barrier flickering out of existence was enough for him to know that he had been successful. It also alerted Warlord Karabell that something was amiss. He spun just in time to see his son fall forward with two daggers buried in his back. It was hard to understand what level of idiocy, or confidence, one would need to place his son¡¯s life in danger to avenge the death of his other son. Warlord Karabell¡¯s face paled, he didn¡¯t take his eyes off his son¡¯s fallen form as the first arrows came in. In that moment, he was thoroughly broken. ¡°Warlord!¡± One of the warlord¡¯s guards jumped in front of the incoming arrows, cutting two of them out of the air before being pierced by three others. Warlord Karabell didn¡¯t seem to care, he turned to Dante with unspeakable hatred in his eyes and a face twisted in anger. Dante chose that moment to act, easily weaving between the arrows coming in from the warlord¡¯s archers while also avoiding the other guards with the spectral attunement. Then, he broke off the tip of his sword with a thought, turning it into a second dagger as he corrupted the two weapons and filled them with his red world essence. The warlord swung at him, but his composure was broken and the reckless attack was no threat. Dante twisted his body to slip between the warlord¡¯s guard and impale him with the two daggers, then he galvanized the world essence in the two weapons, causing the world essence to bounce between the blades and wreak havoc in Warlord Karabell¡¯s body in the way that Victoria had taught him. ¡°Kill him!¡± Dante broke up the weapons for good measure as he abandoned Warlord Karabell¡¯s body. The guards had just reached him, one of them slashing him deeply on his shoulder as he broke through them. The sound of hoofbeats was growing louder, the cavalry would be upon them in mere moments. Just as he was going to make his escape, Jayden¡¯s weak voice echoed out. ¡°Dear brother!¡± Dante dashed toward the hole where the cavern was made only to see that Jayden was already out. He was kneeling over the cavern as he continuously made mana shields to block the mercenaries that were trying to follow him up the makeshift ladder. Dante broke up the sword ladder to stop the enemy as he changed his trajectory to move toward Jayden. Jayden was in rough shape. He was holding a hand over his stomach in an attempt to stop the heavy bleeding from the gash there, which was only one of many wounds, and two arrows that he couldn¡¯t avoid were sticking out of his chest. Dante made it to Jayden in only a moment¡¯s time. He picked Jayden up and dashed to the camp, easily outpacing the mounted troops and simultaneously avoiding arrows as he utilized the spectral attunement to dash side to side. Along the way he met his own combatants, they had rushed forward to aid him as soon as the negotiations broke down. ¡°Just defend and quickly pull back to the camp.¡± Dante didn¡¯t stop as he gave the order. The few mounted troops that were approaching weren¡¯t a problem, but the infantry that was hot on their trail was. Things would be much more chaotic once news got out that Warlord Karabell was dead, but until then they would be fighting an undivided force. As soon as they got within the camp Dante placed Jayden on ground and began to issue orders, the first of which was the arrest of the Geomancer on duty. ¡°Captain Laren, capture this Geomancer. He is to be executed as a traitor. Samson, go collect the Geomancers from Eric¡¯s division and bring them here to raise the walls once all the men have returned.¡± He cast a glance down at Jayden as his first two orders were carried out and the Geomancer uselessly tried to escape from the surrounding combatants. Jayden was paling from the blood loss, but still conscious. ¡°Someone heal Logistics Manager Jayden.¡± He had barely finished speaking when a middle-aged female priest broke out of the crowd and crouched near Jayden, swatting in agitation at anyone who stood in her way. It was Tabitha. As soon as she activated her skill color began to seep back into Jayden¡¯s complexion. ¡°Miss Tabitha, you are too good to me.¡± Tabitha just clicked her tongue and glared at him. ¡°What did I tell you about going and finding trouble with that tongue of yours? I don¡¯t know why I waste my time healing you when you¡¯ll just go and find more ways to injure yourself.¡± Dante rolled his eyes. It seemed that months of wearing poorly knitted clothes had some advantages, no matter how slight. Dante ignored Jayden as he looked at the battle taking place outside of the camp. The cavalry was easily being pushed back by his large number of retreating combatants, it seemed that they would make it back before the enemy¡¯s infantry caught up. The location that he had met Warlord Karabell was of far more interest to him. Roughly half of the groups that passed by there stopped. No one had made a move yet, but it was only a matter of time. Chapter 107 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 107 Shortly after his troops returned to the encampment, Dante had the walls brought back up. The enemy infantry was still coming with a force that made up roughly half of Warlord Karabell¡¯s 100,000 strong army. The other leaders on the enemy¡¯s side were either keeping their men where Warlord Karabell had ambushed him or hanging back to get a better feel for the situation before throwing away their soldier¡¯s lives in an all out battle. All of those leaders could tell that something was wrong. Dante stayed where the fighting was the thickest, the enemy had already built up a makeshift staircase by using a Geomancer¡¯s Barricade skill. Dante Blinked between two of his Warriors and kicked an attacker square in the chest. The force of the impact knocked the combatant off the wall and back into the attacking infantry below. ¡°Jared!¡± His shout brought a small unit forward from where they were hiding behind the wall. The unit was made up of a contingent of defensive Warriors as well as two Classifications that focused on killing, in the middle was a single Geomancer. The unit¡¯s only task was to keep their Geomancer alive. Jared didn¡¯t waste any time. As soon as he was called, he stepped closer to the stone wall and knelt on the ground to feel out the situation, then he immediately activated his skill to lower the makeshift stone staircase that the attackers were using to breach the wall. Dante nodded to Jared in satisfaction as he continued to fling weapons at the attackers, and his nod was all the confirmation that Jared¡¯s unit needed to withdraw. Over the past months, he had truly come to understand how useful Geomancers could be in large scale combat. Especially when the enemy constantly used them to try and breach his wall. Generic Geomancers, the ones who had either building or excavation skills, were direct counters to each other. One could build walls or obstacles, the other could tear them down. Dante wasn¡¯t really sure why that was. He had thought that the direct application of one would accomplish the other. For instance, when building a Barricade, if the Barricade was built into the ground the displacement of the dirt should have created an affect that was similar to the Excavation skill. But after talking to his Geomancers, he had found out that that wasn¡¯t the case. He still didn¡¯t know why though. Geomancers weren¡¯t just a direct counter to each other in that way though. They had a very unique ability that was given to them because of their Classification. The ability to send mana directly into stone. Usually, stone would directly block mana. The fact that Geomancers could send theirs directly through it made them invaluable for sensing the actions of other Geomancers in the ground, among other things. They simply sent their mana into the ground and felt for vibrations. That ability wasn¡¯t immensely useful in such a chaotic fight though. There were far too many vibrations for them to understand what was happening unless they knew where to look. Dante continued to lob his created weapons as the fight progressed, focusing them on the Geomancers he saw trying to breach the wall below as well as other Classifications of note. So far, there wasn¡¯t any movement from those who were hanging back from the fight, but those who were already engaged began to quickly discover that something was amiss. They looked back at the others who were standing idle behind them and their fighting became halfhearted. Instead of aiming to kill, they began to deflect attacks and fight defensively. Out of the corner of his eye, Dante saw unusual movement and shifted his attention to it. A mercenary group fighting to his left was pulling back, and the defenders that were repelling them shifted their position on the wall to reinforce another group of defenders, giving the defenders a clear advantage over the mercenary group attacking there. Without many options, the disadvantaged mercenary group pulled back as well, and a chain reaction started. Not only did any groups that were overwhelmed pull back, but those who saw their comrades retreating pulled back as well. The ¡®all out fight¡¯ had turned into a few small skirmishes rather quickly. As soon as the fighting on his section of the wall calmed, Jayden walked up to him, pushing aside the combatants stationed there. Despite being healed, Jayden¡¯s complexion was still pale from the blood loss, and it was obvious that such a large healing had drained the energy from him. That didn¡¯t seem to affect his usual mood though. ¡°Dear brother, if we want to take advantage of this situation we will need to act quickly.¡± Dante frowned as he continued to watch the enemy¡¯s movements. ¡°In what way?¡± ¡°There are three obvious choices. We can take advantage of the confusion to easily break the encirclement. We could also fight in an upfront confrontation, it would take the enemy quite a while to organize their ranks, so a surprise attack would be quite lethal. The third option, and the one I think would be the most successful, would be to eliminate three of their mercenary leaders. Authority would further fracture and the remaining mercenary leaders would turn on each other.¡± That was basically Victoria¡¯s plan, but she had advised him to kill more than a dozen people. ¡°Which three.¡± ¡°The stupid looking bald headed one, the one with the long nose and wide eyes, and the one leading that group of mages with the ugly silver streaks in his hair.¡± Jayden pointed to each man he described. The way he described them was somewhat crude, but accurate. He made it impossible to mistake any of the people.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Dante recognized two of the leaders, after all, he had familiarized himself with the enemy¡¯s commanders, but the mage leader didn¡¯t seem like someone of note. He was the captain of a mercenary group, but a small one. His group shouldn¡¯t even have an impact on the position of warlord. Dante pointed to him. ¡°Why the mage leader?¡± ¡°Eliminating him would cause the balance of power to shift.¡± Jayden pointed out two mercenary leaders near Warlord Karabell¡¯s corpse, both were in their prime and had an air of authority. The one of the left seemed at least somewhat charismatic from their previous encounters, but the one on the right used brute force whenever possible. The two were talking to each other, and the conversation looked to be quite tense. Behind each of them were their combatants, all of them had a grip on the handle of their weapons. ¡°They won¡¯t attack each other, but if you eliminate the leader of the mage group the one on the left will lose a loose alliance and the other wouldn¡¯t hesitate to take advantage of the situation.¡± Dante examined the other two that Jayden had pointed out. They had extremely high positions and had only answered to Warlord Karabell when he was alive, yet their power and authority was still below the two who were standing by Warlord Karabell¡¯s body. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better to leave them alive so that the enemy will be more divided? If we kill the two of them, there would only be two factions, but if we leave them alive there would be at least four.¡± Jayden shook his head. ¡°You are mistaken. They are too timid.¡± He pointed to the mercenary leader by Warlord Karabell¡¯s body that used brute force. ¡°And he¡¯s an asshole. The two of them would join forces with the other mercenary leader to deal with him. After that, they would quickly unify under him.¡± Unfortunately, all of Jayden¡¯s targets were literally on opposite areas of the battlefield. Sending a raid over and taking advantage of the chaos to assassinate them wouldn¡¯t be an option. ¡°And how exactly am I supposed to kill all three of them?¡± Jayden looked genuinely perplexed. ¡°Dear brother, you do know that you are training with an assassin, correct? I assumed that you could handle the details in regards to the killing itself.¡± What he said was true enough, but this task seemed slightly beyond his ability. ¡°How long would I have to kill them. And what other options do we have aside from the three you already mentioned.¡± He briefly thought of offering his surrender a second time, but quickly dismissed the idea. Even if he wanted to, which was no longer the case, there would be too much discord now that Warlord Karabell was gone. He didn¡¯t regret killing Warlord Karabell though. It was always better to remove someone who hated him to such an extent. ¡°It would be best to finish things tonight. No one will act without solidifying their authority, so tomorrow afternoon will be the absolute earliest that anyone will make their move. As far as other options are concerned¡­ We could probably still utilize the poison, but Miss Victoria took our only raptor, so acquiring it will be a challenge. Burning down the nearby forest to enrage and lure out creatures is definitely still possible, controlling them after leading them here would be challenging though. We could also-¡± Dante waved him off. ¡°Never mind. I¡¯ll try to kill the three you mentioned. If I¡¯m unsuccessful, we can always try something else tomorrow.¡± Jayden seemed satisfied. ¡°Very well. I should warn you though, breaking out of the encirclement or confronting them in a straightforward manner would be much harder if we don¡¯t act immediately.¡± Dante nodded, that was to be expected. ¡°Start sending out small raids to harass the enemy, but keep the losses to a minimum.¡± He then returned his attention to the three targets that Jayden had previously mentioned, as well as the mercenary groups stationed between their camps. Then his eyes shifted to the bodies that had yet to be buried from the large battle four days ago, paying careful attention to their attire. He spent several minutes scanning the battlefield, but was still missing a body from the mercenary group made up of mages. So instead, he settled for a body from a mercenary group that was closed directly next to theirs. After picking his targets, Dante had the bodies retrieved. Then he had them dropped off in a secluded area where he stripped them down. After doing so, he put on the clothing that belonged to the bald-headed man¡¯s mercenary group before storing the rest. After changing into the clothing Dante frowned. The clothes definitely smelt like they had been on a four-day old corpse. He didn¡¯t really have many options though, covering the scent with something stronger would be too obvious. He collected some mud and very lightly rubbed it into both the clothes he was wearing and the clothes he had already placed into his storage to dampen the smell. Then, he lightly covered his face in it. Not in a blatantly obvious way, but in a way that looked natural while simultaneously covering up the lines and contours of his facial features. When he finished, Dante looked into a mirror and frowned. He looked slightly different, and dirty enough to fit into a camp where combatants were unable to waste the water needed to clean themselves, but didn¡¯t look different enough. Too many people had seen his appearance on the battlefield. Dante created a small knife. Then, with the help of the mirror, began to carefully cut his hair. When Dante finished, his medium length hair became short and cropped. Now he could be quite sure that no one would recognize him. Dante stepped out of his personal tent, now completely transformed. He quickly stepped through the camp, and the lack of stares, salutes, and murmured conversations confirmed that he hadn¡¯t been recognized. When he came to the wall he found that Jayden was in the midst of issuing orders to the small group of captains stationed there. He instructed them on every aspect of the raid before sending them out, including where to engage, how to fight, how many they should kill, and when to retreat. Then he covered what actions should be taken if unforeseen issues occurred or if there was an ambush. When Jayden finished and dismissed the captains Dante approached. Jayden immediately noticed him, his eyes narrowing as he looked Dante up and down, then he smiled. ¡°I must say, you clean up rather nicely. I hardly recognized you.¡± Dante rolled his eyes. ¡°How are the raids going?¡± Jayden scratched his chin as he inspected Dante¡¯s appearance. ¡°Rather well. The separate mercenary groups are reluctant to help each other, fearing that they would be put in a precarious situation. I assume that you plan on joining a raid to infiltrate the enemy¡¯s camp?¡± Dante nodded, that was his basic idea. Jayden stepped forward. ¡°Your disguise is rather good, but not great. Allow me.¡± Jayden began to adjust the dirt that he had smudged on his face, which was an incredibly uncomfortable experience. He didn¡¯t stop Jayden though. If Jayden really could hide his features better, stopping him would be foolish. When Jayden finished, Dante created a flat blade and looked at his reflection. His features were hidden much better. ¡°When should I join in the raids?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll wait until the sun starts to set. It will lower the chance of you being recognized.¡± Chapter 108 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 108 They waited two hours, after which, the sun was no longer in the sky and the enemy was thoroughly harassed by the constant raiding. Warlord Karabell¡¯s army couldn¡¯t do much about it though, every time they adjusted to the raids Jayden would switch something to throw them off. Jayden then organized the raid that he would be joining. They didn¡¯t disclose his identity to the other combatants, Jayden just told them that he was sending a spy over so that they could get a better understanding of the situation. No one thought it was strange, news that their commander had killed the opposing warlord had already spread through the camp. He and Jayden weren¡¯t too worried about traitors at the moment. The enemy¡¯s position was far less stable than theirs. If someone wanted to turn, they would first need to choose which of the enemy mercenary leaders they wanted to align themselves with, then they needed to hope that the person they chose didn¡¯t get eliminated. Dante stepped between the combatants that made up the raiding party, there were around fifty combatants in total, and all of them were carrying massive shields that would be discarded once the fighting started. They closed in their ranks tightly, and he was squeezed into the middle so that he would be concealed while they marched and engaged the enemy. Of to the side, the captain of the raiding party, a relatively young captain that always carried out his orders to the letter and prioritized discipline over all else, was listening to Jayden with rapt attention. When Jayden finished, the captain perfectly saluted and walked back to the raiding party. ¡°Alright men, we have an escort mission. There will not be any mistakes, the very survival of the camp may depend on the success of this mission.¡± This group had already been on several raids earlier in the day, so the importance that their captain placed on this raid in particular made them all more alert. ¡°We are using the same protocols as earlier, but do not disengage until you receive the order. Our aim is to create havoc. And we will create casualties.¡± A chorus of ¡®yes sir¡¯ rang out from every member of the raiding party. The captain then went over every small detail that Jayden had told him. Especially the details of how and where they should engage. It sounded like this raid was going to be an overly bloody one. When the captain finished, the combatants saluted. Then the captain turned to the Geomancer stationed by the walls. ¡°Lower the walls!¡± The captain then moved into the formation, positioning himself directly next to Dante. ¡°Advisor Jayden told me that you had already received your orders. Worry not, I¡¯ll carry out my side of things and get you there safely.¡± The captain then shifted his attention to his troops. ¡°Fall in and march!¡± Dante wanted to roll his eyes as soon as he heard the words ¡®Advisor Jayden.¡¯ he didn¡¯t speak though, which eliminated the miniscule chance of the captain recognizing his voice. Instead, he nodded to the captain in reply as the troops surrounding him compressed further, enclosing him and completely hiding him from view. The troops then began to march, and Dante struggled to keep up with the awkward pace. It wasn¡¯t that they were moving too fast, but mixture of the hurried speed and the occasional stumbling when he tripped over the legs of the combatants both in front and behind him was annoying. What made the march worse was how effectively blind he was. He couldn¡¯t see a single thing because he was huddled between the combatants, and would have close to no warning when the combat started. Because of that, he pulled his artificed gauntlet out of storage and immediately activated it. He hadn¡¯t used the gauntlet in quite a while. After adapting to the large-scale combat, and with the new aid of his improved senses, it wasn¡¯t really worth the mana drain. But now, when he couldn¡¯t see much, he would at least be alerted when a projectile entered its range. Dante then refocused on the march, paying careful attention to the rapid trajectory changes they made. Jayden did it purposefully, making it look like they were targeting someone, then as soon as that mercenary group was ready for the engagement they would shift to an opposing faction. The prepared mercenaries would be more than reluctant to help their enemies, on the contrary, they often hoped that the raid would be successful. Because of that, no one would engage the raiding party until the raiding party had chosen its final target. The trajectory change didn¡¯t mean that they would completely take anyone off guard though. After a day of raiding every mercenary group was prepared for action. Which was ideal when he was trying to infiltrate the enemy. After a few rapid changes, the raiding party made a beeline for the mercenary group that Jayden had chosen to attack. The target group was located almost directly next to his bald-headed target¡¯s mercenary group. As soon as they chose their target arrows began to rain from the sky, and all of the combatants in the raiding party brandished their prepared shields, filling them with world essence to bolster their defensive capabilities. The ones at the front and sides blocked their prospective areas, while all of the combatants in the middle blocked the projectiles that came directly above them. Despite the cover, more than one combatant was hit by the arrows. The ones that were slowed or debilitated were left behind, and they were quickly covered in arrows after leaving the cover that the formation provided. The other soldiers didn¡¯t seem overly impacted by the loss, they just gritted their teeth and closed the gaps in their formation.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Dante crouched lower. He had already avoided two arrows with the help of his gauntlet. Despite being in such a precarious situation, he wasn¡¯t overly worried. He did fill his legs with world essence though, ready to Blink out and flee if anything went horribly wrong. The number of incoming arrows continued to increase, the sound reminiscent to hail in a violent storm. Then Dante felt the sudden impact. The entire raiding party was jarred by the collision with their target. If this was like the other raids, the party would halt at this point, briefly attacking near the front before falling back with minimal losses. It wasn¡¯t a regular raid though. The shields came down as they pushed into the ranks of the enemy mercenary group, making them harder to target while surrounded by the archer¡¯s allies. The raiding party stayed clustered as they quickly slaughtered any unsuspecting enemy that stood in their path. They then pushed further toward the bald-headed target¡¯s mercenary group as the bodies on both sides began to pile. The enemy was completely taken off guard by the savagery of this raid, which was completely unlike the others before it, making the enemy¡¯s losses were far worse. It was only a short time later when shouts of alarm rose and other mercenary groups rushed to the aid of their enemy. Amongst them was his target. ¡°Attack!¡± The captain of the raiding party shouted furiously at his men, leading the charge into the bald-headed man¡¯s mercenary group before he was quickly cut down. Despite the captain losing his life, the desired effect was earned. The raiding party charged in, engaging with the target and being brought to a standstill. The losses on their side were staggering because of the restriction that he and Jayden had placed on the combatants. When engaging this mercenary group they were only allowed to kill, not injure, no matter what the cost was. ¡°Retreat!¡± After a minute of taking horrendous losses, the new acting captain of the raiding party issues the retreat. Only around twenty of the original fifty combatants were still capable of following out the order, and even less would ultimately make it back to the camp. Dante remained behind on the floor as though unconscious, his gauntlet stowed away, and his body covered in new self-inflicted wounds. Among them was a very nasty gash across his stomach, which he really hoped a healer would get to quickly. He positioned his body carefully, visibly showing the attire that matched up with Warlord Karabell¡¯s army, but left the sleeve that denoted which mercenary group he belonged to hidden for the time being. It would keep his affiliation hidden during the initial cleanup when the mercenaries would check on their friends¡¯ condition. While lying on the floor, Dante heard more shouts of alarm from across the camp, indicating that Jayden had already sent out the additional raids. They would attack similarly to the one he was in, which would reduce the suspicion that the sudden savagery of his raid would cause. When they created the plan, he had thought that it would be better to escape suspicion by sending out a few heavy raids before his group actually went out, but Jayden thought the opposite. He reasoned that if the enemy was suspicious, they would be far less likely to suspect the first raid, as that would be too obvious. Around him, mercenaries picked through the bodies to check on their friend¡¯s and group member¡¯s condition. Things were going well thus far. He was noticed by several people, but since no one recognized him, they left him for the healers to deal with. The quickest to depart were from the bald-headed man¡¯s mercenary group. They had the fewest fatalities but still grit their teeth and cursed as they checked on their downed comrades. They didn¡¯t find a single survivor. Shortly after that the healers ran in, they were completely flustered and looked exhausted. It had likely been a long day for them with all of the raiding. It was unfortunate that he wasn¡¯t a priority at all. All of the mercenaries directed the healers to their injured friends. He was completely ignored. Just when Dante was beginning to think he would actually lose consciousness from the blood loss, someone kicked him in the shoulder, flipping him onto his stomach. ¡°We got another live one!¡± The voice was completely disinterested, and Dante had an urge to spring up and kill the person speaking after the way he flipped him over. There was a brief moment of silence before that person spoke again in a hushed tone of disbelief. ¡°Holy shit, it¡¯s one of Karl¡¯s men.¡± The man leaned down to make sure he was breathing before shouting. ¡°Healer! Get over here before he bleeds out! If Captain Karl finds out we didn¡¯t save one of his combatants there will be hell to pay.¡± Dante didn¡¯t know why he had to be found by an idiot. The shout was effective though. Two healers rushed over and simultaneously activated their skills on him. The wounds on his body began to stitch together as the energy seemed to drain out of him. Dante took that as his cue, groaning and attempting to sit up as though he had just regained consciousness. ¡°Easy. Take it slow.¡± A middle-aged woman placed a hand on his chest, easily stopping him from sitting up in his ¡®weakened¡¯ state. Dante reached up to his head as though he had taken a blow there. ¡°What happened?¡± Then he looked around. ¡°And where are the others?¡± A young and unassuming combatant ¨C who he assumed to be the person who found him ¨C answered, almost proudly. ¡°They already left, must have missed you. If I hadn¡¯t been checking over the bodies so thoroughly you might have bled out.¡± He actually had a point, had he not been checking the bodies carefully Dante might have really bled out. Dante muttered under his breath theatrically. ¡°Those bastards¡­¡± Then spoke to the healers loud enough for them to hear him clearly as he tried to sit up again. ¡°Thanks for patching me, but I should get going. No telling when we¡¯ll be attacked again. Damn raids don¡¯t seem to be stopping any time soon.¡± The middle-aged woman shook her head. ¡°You¡¯re in no condition to fight, you need to go back and rest for the rest of the night at the very least.¡± Dante stood, showing slight fatigue from the healing. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± The other healer shook his head at the middle-aged woman before she could speak again. ¡°Don¡¯t even bother, we don¡¯t have time to deal with him.¡± The woman looked reluctant, but nodded in agreement before departing, which left Dante with the person who found him. That unassuming combatant smiled amiably. ¡°It¡¯s amazing that you are in Captain Karl¡¯s mercenary group. I¡¯ve wanted to try out for the group myself, but it¡¯s so hard to get a recommendation when so many of my actions go unnoticed.¡± He finished by laughing suggestively. ¡°Stay persistent, I¡¯m sure that someone will recommend you eventually.¡± Dante finished by patting him on the shoulder, which wiped that stupid smile off of his face. Then, turning around as though the conversation was finished, walked toward his first target. Chapter 108 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 108 They waited two hours, after which, the sun was no longer in the sky and the enemy was thoroughly harassed by the constant raiding. Warlord Karabell¡¯s army couldn¡¯t do much about it though, every time they adjusted to the raids Jayden would switch something to throw them off. Jayden then organized the raid that he would be joining. They didn¡¯t disclose his identity to the other combatants, Jayden just told them that he was sending a spy over so that they could get a better understanding of the situation. No one thought it was strange, news that their commander had killed the opposing warlord had already spread through the camp. He and Jayden weren¡¯t too worried about traitors at the moment. The enemy¡¯s position was far less stable than theirs. If someone wanted to turn, they would first need to choose which of the enemy mercenary leaders they wanted to align themselves with, then they needed to hope that the person they chose didn¡¯t get eliminated. Dante stepped between the combatants that made up the raiding party, there were around fifty combatants in total, and all of them were carrying massive shields that would be discarded once the fighting started. They closed in their ranks tightly, and he was squeezed into the middle so that he would be concealed while they marched and engaged the enemy. Of to the side, the captain of the raiding party, a relatively young captain that always carried out his orders to the letter and prioritized discipline over all else, was listening to Jayden with rapt attention. When Jayden finished, the captain perfectly saluted and walked back to the raiding party. ¡°Alright men, we have an escort mission. There will not be any mistakes, the very survival of the camp may depend on the success of this mission.¡± This group had already been on several raids earlier in the day, so the importance that their captain placed on this raid in particular made them all more alert. ¡°We are using the same protocols as earlier, but do not disengage until you receive the order. Our aim is to create havoc. And we will create casualties.¡± A chorus of ¡®yes sir¡¯ rang out from every member of the raiding party. The captain then went over every small detail that Jayden had told him. Especially the details of how and where they should engage. It sounded like this raid was going to be an overly bloody one. When the captain finished, the combatants saluted. Then the captain turned to the Geomancer stationed by the walls. ¡°Lower the walls!¡± The captain then moved into the formation, positioning himself directly next to Dante. ¡°Advisor Jayden told me that you had already received your orders. Worry not, I¡¯ll carry out my side of things and get you there safely.¡± The captain then shifted his attention to his troops. ¡°Fall in and march!¡± Dante wanted to roll his eyes as soon as he heard the words ¡®Advisor Jayden.¡¯ he didn¡¯t speak though, which eliminated the miniscule chance of the captain recognizing his voice. Instead, he nodded to the captain in reply as the troops surrounding him compressed further, enclosing him and completely hiding him from view. The troops then began to march, and Dante struggled to keep up with the awkward pace. It wasn¡¯t that they were moving too fast, but mixture of the hurried speed and the occasional stumbling when he tripped over the legs of the combatants both in front and behind him was annoying. What made the march worse was how effectively blind he was. He couldn¡¯t see a single thing because he was huddled between the combatants, and would have close to no warning when the combat started. Because of that, he pulled his artificed gauntlet out of storage and immediately activated it. He hadn¡¯t used the gauntlet in quite a while. After adapting to the large-scale combat, and with the new aid of his improved senses, it wasn¡¯t really worth the mana drain. But now, when he couldn¡¯t see much, he would at least be alerted when a projectile entered its range. Dante then refocused on the march, paying careful attention to the rapid trajectory changes they made. Jayden did it purposefully, making it look like they were targeting someone, then as soon as that mercenary group was ready for the engagement they would shift to an opposing faction. The prepared mercenaries would be more than reluctant to help their enemies, on the contrary, they often hoped that the raid would be successful. Because of that, no one would engage the raiding party until the raiding party had chosen its final target. The trajectory change didn¡¯t mean that they would completely take anyone off guard though. After a day of raiding every mercenary group was prepared for action. Which was ideal when he was trying to infiltrate the enemy. After a few rapid changes, the raiding party made a beeline for the mercenary group that Jayden had chosen to attack. The target group was located almost directly next to his bald-headed target¡¯s mercenary group. As soon as they chose their target arrows began to rain from the sky, and all of the combatants in the raiding party brandished their prepared shields, filling them with world essence to bolster their defensive capabilities. The ones at the front and sides blocked their prospective areas, while all of the combatants in the middle blocked the projectiles that came directly above them. Despite the cover, more than one combatant was hit by the arrows. The ones that were slowed or debilitated were left behind, and they were quickly covered in arrows after leaving the cover that the formation provided. The other soldiers didn¡¯t seem overly impacted by the loss, they just gritted their teeth and closed the gaps in their formation.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Dante crouched lower. He had already avoided two arrows with the help of his gauntlet. Despite being in such a precarious situation, he wasn¡¯t overly worried. He did fill his legs with world essence though, ready to Blink out and flee if anything went horribly wrong. The number of incoming arrows continued to increase, the sound reminiscent to hail in a violent storm. Then Dante felt the sudden impact. The entire raiding party was jarred by the collision with their target. If this was like the other raids, the party would halt at this point, briefly attacking near the front before falling back with minimal losses. It wasn¡¯t a regular raid though. The shields came down as they pushed into the ranks of the enemy mercenary group, making them harder to target while surrounded by the archer¡¯s allies. The raiding party stayed clustered as they quickly slaughtered any unsuspecting enemy that stood in their path. They then pushed further toward the bald-headed target¡¯s mercenary group as the bodies on both sides began to pile. The enemy was completely taken off guard by the savagery of this raid, which was completely unlike the others before it, making the enemy¡¯s losses were far worse. It was only a short time later when shouts of alarm rose and other mercenary groups rushed to the aid of their enemy. Amongst them was his target. ¡°Attack!¡± The captain of the raiding party shouted furiously at his men, leading the charge into the bald-headed man¡¯s mercenary group before he was quickly cut down. Despite the captain losing his life, the desired effect was earned. The raiding party charged in, engaging with the target and being brought to a standstill. The losses on their side were staggering because of the restriction that he and Jayden had placed on the combatants. When engaging this mercenary group they were only allowed to kill, not injure, no matter what the cost was. ¡°Retreat!¡± After a minute of taking horrendous losses, the new acting captain of the raiding party issues the retreat. Only around twenty of the original fifty combatants were still capable of following out the order, and even less would ultimately make it back to the camp. Dante remained behind on the floor as though unconscious, his gauntlet stowed away, and his body covered in new self-inflicted wounds. Among them was a very nasty gash across his stomach, which he really hoped a healer would get to quickly. He positioned his body carefully, visibly showing the attire that matched up with Warlord Karabell¡¯s army, but left the sleeve that denoted which mercenary group he belonged to hidden for the time being. It would keep his affiliation hidden during the initial cleanup when the mercenaries would check on their friends¡¯ condition. While lying on the floor, Dante heard more shouts of alarm from across the camp, indicating that Jayden had already sent out the additional raids. They would attack similarly to the one he was in, which would reduce the suspicion that the sudden savagery of his raid would cause. When they created the plan, he had thought that it would be better to escape suspicion by sending out a few heavy raids before his group actually went out, but Jayden thought the opposite. He reasoned that if the enemy was suspicious, they would be far less likely to suspect the first raid, as that would be too obvious. Around him, mercenaries picked through the bodies to check on their friend¡¯s and group member¡¯s condition. Things were going well thus far. He was noticed by several people, but since no one recognized him, they left him for the healers to deal with. The quickest to depart were from the bald-headed man¡¯s mercenary group. They had the fewest fatalities but still grit their teeth and cursed as they checked on their downed comrades. They didn¡¯t find a single survivor. Shortly after that the healers ran in, they were completely flustered and looked exhausted. It had likely been a long day for them with all of the raiding. It was unfortunate that he wasn¡¯t a priority at all. All of the mercenaries directed the healers to their injured friends. He was completely ignored. Just when Dante was beginning to think he would actually lose consciousness from the blood loss, someone kicked him in the shoulder, flipping him onto his stomach. ¡°We got another live one!¡± The voice was completely disinterested, and Dante had an urge to spring up and kill the person speaking after the way he flipped him over. There was a brief moment of silence before that person spoke again in a hushed tone of disbelief. ¡°Holy shit, it¡¯s one of Karl¡¯s men.¡± The man leaned down to make sure he was breathing before shouting. ¡°Healer! Get over here before he bleeds out! If Captain Karl finds out we didn¡¯t save one of his combatants there will be hell to pay.¡± Dante didn¡¯t know why he had to be found by an idiot. The shout was effective though. Two healers rushed over and simultaneously activated their skills on him. The wounds on his body began to stitch together as the energy seemed to drain out of him. Dante took that as his cue, groaning and attempting to sit up as though he had just regained consciousness. ¡°Easy. Take it slow.¡± A middle-aged woman placed a hand on his chest, easily stopping him from sitting up in his ¡®weakened¡¯ state. Dante reached up to his head as though he had taken a blow there. ¡°What happened?¡± Then he looked around. ¡°And where are the others?¡± A young and unassuming combatant ¨C who he assumed to be the person who found him ¨C answered, almost proudly. ¡°They already left, must have missed you. If I hadn¡¯t been checking over the bodies so thoroughly you might have bled out.¡± He actually had a point, had he not been checking the bodies carefully Dante might have really bled out. Dante muttered under his breath theatrically. ¡°Those bastards¡­¡± Then spoke to the healers loud enough for them to hear him clearly as he tried to sit up again. ¡°Thanks for patching me, but I should get going. No telling when we¡¯ll be attacked again. Damn raids don¡¯t seem to be stopping any time soon.¡± The middle-aged woman shook her head. ¡°You¡¯re in no condition to fight, you need to go back and rest for the rest of the night at the very least.¡± Dante stood, showing slight fatigue from the healing. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± The other healer shook his head at the middle-aged woman before she could speak again. ¡°Don¡¯t even bother, we don¡¯t have time to deal with him.¡± The woman looked reluctant, but nodded in agreement before departing, which left Dante with the person who found him. That unassuming combatant smiled amiably. ¡°It¡¯s amazing that you are in Captain Karl¡¯s mercenary group. I¡¯ve wanted to try out for the group myself, but it¡¯s so hard to get a recommendation when so many of my actions go unnoticed.¡± He finished by laughing suggestively. ¡°Stay persistent, I¡¯m sure that someone will recommend you eventually.¡± Dante finished by patting him on the shoulder, which wiped that stupid smile off of his face. Then, turning around as though the conversation was finished, walked toward his first target. Chapter 109 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 109 Dante walked through the camp with purpose, as though he had somewhere to be and shouldn¡¯t be interrupted. He didn¡¯t enter the camp of ¡®his¡¯ mercenary group though. Instead, he began by walking around and scouting out his target. Something that surprised him was the lack of security in his target¡¯s camp. It seemed that they relied heavily on the other mercenary groups under their control that were surrounding them when it came to being alerted to threats. It actually worked in his favor, but infiltrating the camp itself would still be challenging. All of the mercenaries were still on alert, ready for action in case there was a raid close by their camp. Dante¡¯s eyes scanned over his own camp. Raids were no longer being sent out, but several were in the process of attacking. That made things somewhat annoying, he needed to kill time and wait until the camp quieted down. Lacking better options, Dante headed toward the latrines. Specifically, the latrines that weren¡¯t anywhere near his target. Dante stepped past the combatant on sanitation duty with a hand clamped over his stomach and what he hoped was a constipated expression on his face. ¡°Hold it.¡± Dante turned back to the combatant, reluctance clearly visible on his face. ¡°What is it?¡± The combatant had his arms crossed over his chest in a confrontational manner. There wasn¡¯t the slightest change in his expression unchanged. ¡°If you¡¯re going to go out your way to use our latrine, make sure you cover your own shit. If you think that just because your position is higher than mine you can break the rules-¡± ¡°Yes, yes. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll clean up after myself.¡± Dante quickly nodded as he moved toward the latrine. It was obvious that the combatant on sanitation duty was having a hard day. After all, the position was given as punishment. Dante then proceeded to spend the next hour on one of the makeshift seats that was positioned over the latrine. Then, when all the raids were finished, he got up and threw the sand like composite on the latrine¡¯s floor. Usually the composite would stop the spread of odor and disease, but in this case, it would just mask the fact that he had been sitting idle for an hour. When he finished, Dante walked past that same combatant from earlier, looking very satisfied. On the other hand, the combatant that was on sanitation duty looked at him like he was a complete monster. Dante made his way back to the bald-headed man¡¯s mercenary group, using some of the concealing techniques that Victoria taught him. He couldn¡¯t actually sneak around, that would be too obvious, but dampening the sound of his footsteps and walking in areas of poor lighting that would obscure his features was a simple task. He made it back to the mercenary group, all of their earlier vigilance was gone. Those who hadn¡¯t already retired to their tents for the night were sitting around a campfire, chewing rations and sipping on what looked to be hard liquor. He was surprised that they had any alcohol at all, but the way they sipped it like it was a fine wine gave him an idea of how scarce it was. Dante walked around the circumference of their camp until he came close to the large command tent, the most likely location of the bald-headed mercenary leader. Like the rest of their small camp, it was completely unguarded. Had he known that the security here was so lax, he would have infiltrated the camp months ago. Dante stepped up to the tent like he had been called there after glancing around to make sure he wasn¡¯t being carefully watched. Those within the mercenary group weren¡¯t paying him any attention, they just didn¡¯t care. And anyone in the other camps that noticed him saw that he was a member of the mercenary group and didn¡¯t think that anything was amiss. They only looked at him briefly before turning their attention outward as they watched for threats coming from outside of the camp. He was just about to step into the tent when he heard a voice coming from inside. ¡°What about Captain Lawrence, what move will he make?¡± The voice was contemplative, almost reluctant. He was immediately answered by a second voice. ¡°I am still unsure, but the same offer is being sent to him. I think that we both know that Warlord Kinton only needs one of you.¡± The second voice was far calmer, and there was an assertive quality to it. There was a long pause that lasted several minutes, which helped explain why he didn¡¯t hear anything when he walked up to the large tent. ¡°Very well, but I want what is left of the Silver Spears after we finish off Williams.¡±This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. This time the second voice paused, if only briefly. ¡°I think that Warlord Kinton will find your terms agreeable. I¡¯ll discuss it with him and give you an answer at first light.¡± It was scary how accurate Jayden¡¯s prediction was. There weren¡¯t any warlords in the surrounding area, so Warlord Kinton was likely self-appointed and one of the two captains that had been standing by Warlord Karabell¡¯s corpse earlier that day. And almost certainly the one Jayden had pointed out in particular. Dante heard noise inside the tent, and moments later the tent flap was opened to reveal one of the mercenary captains he had seen on the battlefield. He and Dante came face to face, neither looked surprised to see the other. That captain looked Dante up and down, noticed the colors on his armband, then nodded to him before silently walking off. That was risky, but hiding at the last minute would have only drawn more attention. Even Blinking away would have alerted someone. Dante waited a few seconds, then walked into the tent as though he had been called while simultaneously preparing his Blink skill and creating a dagger, immediately filling it with world essence. In front of Dante, the bald-headed captain was sitting in a chair, his back was facing the tent¡¯s door while he was busy pouring the contents of a flask into a rather large glass. ¡°If you think I¡¯m going to give in to any more demands without being compensated, think again. Kinton may have the upper hand, but I¡¯m not that easy to push around. Besides, I would still be a thorn in his side.¡± Dante stepped forward. His silence alerted the captain, causing him to turn his head to look at the tent flap, his eyebrows knitting. ¡°Who are-¡± Dante Blinked forward, placing his hand against the captain¡¯s mouth as he sunk his dagger between the captain¡¯s ribs to pierce the heart. Realization struck the bald-headed captain, his eyes hardened as he jerked his head and tried to break out of Dante¡¯s grasp, his teeth sinking into the flesh of Dante¡¯s hand. Dante grit his teeth as the captain bit into his hand. His foot moved to intercept the glass that had fallen from the captain¡¯s hand, gently lowering it before it could shatter on the ground. The captain continued to weaken, and only moments later he lost consciousness. Dante withdrew his hand and examined it. The captain had already been slightly weakened, so the damage was minimal, and the wound began to heal as the passive skill took effect. Dante began to silently clean up the body, using anything that could work as a rag to clean up the blood before storing the soiled fabric. Then, he picked up the corpse and moved it into the captain¡¯s room, placing the captain on the bed, positioning him on his side so that the blood would be hidden as it bled into the mattress. After that, he looked around the tent, checking for anything that would alert someone that an attacker had come. The only issue he found was a rug that was stained with blood. Dante quickly replaced it with another from a different room and stored the bloodstained rug. Dante then walked out of the tent like nothing happened. A few gazes passed over him as he did so, but none lingered. He walked out of the mercenary camp with purpose, as though he had just gotten new orders to carry out from the captain. So far, things were going rather well. The tricky part came when he was preparing to enter the territory of a faction that opposed the bald-headed captain. His disguise, which had worked thus far, would only go against its intended purpose. He would attract less attention by walking through without clothes. Changing his clothes was going to be a problem though. Fortunately, now that everyone was turning in for the night, the camp was far less populated. Other than a few outliers, the only combatants that were still awake were on guard duty. Unfortunately, that also meant that he would be more carefully watched by those guards. Dante made his way to one of the camp¡¯s larger cooking grounds. There were a few large coverings set out for the cooks and areas setup for fires, but otherwise the grounds were completely empty. He walked up to the grounds with a wronged expression, completely ignoring the guards that were stationed around the perimeter as if he didn¡¯t even notice him. The guards didn¡¯t ignore him though, one of them put a hand on his chest, stopping him from walking forward. ¡°Where do ya think you¡¯re going?¡± The guard on watch next to him was also alerted, he had a hand gripping his sheathed sword. The cooking grounds were always heavily guarded. If someone snuck in poison it would cause a disaster. Dante maintained his wronged expression as he looked between the two of them. ¡°Captain¡¯s orders. He caught me sleeping on duty. If I don¡¯t clean all the pots on this side of the camp before sunrise he¡¯ll have the skin stripped off my back.¡± The guard took his hand off of Dante¡¯s chest and the other removed his from his sword, crossing his arms over his chest and looking down on Dante as he did so. ¡°That¡¯s what you get for sleeping on duty, you¡¯re lucky to have gotten off so lightly.¡± Dante looked sullen after being reprimanded by the guard. ¡°I know, I picked up a few extra guard shifts in exchange for the last of my buddies liquor. Didn¡¯t expect things to be so hectic afterwards, I haven¡¯t slept in two days.¡± A touch of sympathy entered the eyes of the two guards. The one who stopped him initially stepped aside. ¡°Best get to it then, all the captains have been uptight after the warlord died. It¡¯s better to just get out of their way for now.¡± Dante nodded in thanks as he stepped past the guards and into one of the enclosures set out for the cooks. Inside were a few water basins along with the pots and pans that had been dirtied from dinner. Before changing his uniform, Dante inspected the pots with interest. His combatants were forced to eat that horrendous twice baked bread, so he wondered how well the enemy had it in comparison. He sniffed a pot. There definitely hadn¡¯t been any meat in whatever it was. All of the pots seemed to have been used to make a lackluster stew, and the main ingredient appeared to have been some kind of weed or wild grass. Still better than the tac like bread though. After checking the pots, Dante changed into a different uniform. This one was from a far weaker mercenary group, but because they were weak, their position was somewhat neutral. Then he walked out of the enclosure in the opposite direction of the two guards that had intercepted him. He was stopped again, but getting out of the cooking grounds was far easier than getting in. A quick excuse was all it took for the guards to allow him past. Chapter 110 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 110 Dante stepped forward on the trodden path that separated the canvas tents on either side of him, his dark eyes constantly scanning for any indication of a threat. Thus far, he had managed to avoid a majority of the guards that were out on patrol. Any time he thought that he would cross paths with one, he would almost immediately change his direction to circumvent them. Completely avoiding all of the guards was impossible though, especially when he noticed them too late. When he saw them first, walking away preemptively without drawing too much attention was a simple thing. But when noticed him first, a quick change of direction was impossible. In those circumstances, quickly avoiding them would have only brought suspicion. Dante would greet each guard when stopped, changing his expression to match whichever excuse he gave at the time. Sometimes he would be hurrying on his way to a latrine, sometimes he had an urgent message to pass on to another captain, and other times he would be suffering some punishment that was dealt out by his own captain. No matter which excuse he chose, he would stick to it. At least until he had the need to change his clothing and enter a new faction¡¯s section of the camp. Only then would he change the excuse he used. The last thing he needed was the guards talking on break and discovering that something was amiss when his story didn¡¯t line up. Unfortunately, walking through the camp so cautiously brought its own downsides. His pace was beyond slow, and by the time he made it to his second target¡¯s camp several hours had already passed. A fact that was made obvious by the late-night chill that seemed to penetrate through his skin, despite his above average constitution. Dante rubbed his arms, using the friction to take the bite out of the chill. He should have been sleeping happily in his warm bed, wrapped in the expensive furs he bought in Sloria with shade slumbering by his side. It was all that stupid Warlord¡¯s fault. What idiot sent his son to fight on the frontlines, then blamed the person who killed him? Dante broke himself out of his irritated thought as he sullenly looked over the camp of his second target. The leader of the mercenary group ¨C who he now knew to be Captain Lawrence from the conversation he previously overheard in the tent ¨C was nowhere near as lax as his previous target. At least a third of the mercenaries within the camp were still awake, despite the late hour, and at least four of those mercenaries were carefully keeping watch. Not only did they not heavily rely on the patrolling guards to alert them, but even the mercenaries sitting by the campfires in a relaxed manner seemed alert. Their conversation was sparse, alcohol was entirely nonexistent, and the way that they all had a weapon within reach made it clear that they were ready for an attack. Captain Lawrence appeared to be a far more rigid and cautious leader than his first target. Which made sense. Skirmishes led by Captain Lawrence had the fewest casualties, on both sides. This captain never took the slightest risk in battle. Dante continued to walk nonchalantly as he studied the mercenary group from a distance, carefully walking through areas of low light to obscure his features. This was going to be problematic. He had taken a uniform to fit into Captain Lawrence¡¯s mercenary group, but using it wasn¡¯t an option. The guards watching the camp would immediately see that he was a fraud. Dante walked away from the mercenary group until he was out of sight, then ducked behind a large tent to block the view of any watching eyes. After achieving some modicum of privacy, Dante quickly tore off his shirt as he took out the uniform that belonged to his first target¡¯s mercenary group. After swapping outfits, Dante stored his discarded clothing and walked in the opposite direction, taking him away from any guards that might have seen him previously. He then walked toward Captain Lawrence¡¯s mercenary group in a roundabout fashion so that he would approach from the opposite direction of where he had earlier, trying to remember the name of the captain he had killed as he did so. It only took him a moment to pull a name from the various reports he had scanned through over the past months ¨C Captain Kloss. Dante walked up to Captain Lawrence¡¯s camp, making his intention of entering clear to the mercenaries on watch. His appearance was met with a sharp whistle from one of the four guards. None of the four moved, but all of the mercenaries sitting by the campfires nearby looked up. Seeing him trying to enter the camp, two of them stood and walked over to him. Both were rugged men, yet as groomed as possible in the harsh army camp. As the two walked up to him, Dante noticed that the four guards on watch had returned their attention to where it was previously, watching for new disturbances. Aside from them, every eye in the camp was trained on him, and every hand was touching a weapon. Captain Lawrence ran a surprisingly well-organized camp. The two that walked up to him had the most intense gazes. They didn¡¯t look like they had ill intentions, but were wary of him. One stood in front of him, the other stood to his left, placing himself in the most advantageous position if Dante became a threat. The mercenary directly in front of him spoke, his tone even. ¡°What brings you here?¡± Dante looked between the two mercenaries. The one in front looked him directly in the eye, but the one on the left was watching for the slightest movement, paying close attention to his hands. Maintaining a neutral expression that was neither servile nor overbearing, Dante spoke. ¡°Captain Kloss sent me with a message for Captain Lawrence. It¡¯s urgent.¡±This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. The mercenaries glanced at each other, almost questioningly. Then the mercenary that had spoken previously looked back at him. ¡°Give me your message, I¡¯ll deliver it.¡± Dante looked uncertain. ¡°I¡¯m supposed to deliver this personally, captain¡¯s orders.¡± The mercenary hesitated. He likely wouldn¡¯t have paused at any other time, but the developments earlier that day had thrown things into disarray, and the usual protocols might not apply any longer. ¡°Wait here with Sven, I¡¯ll be right back.¡± The mercenary walked toward the large tent that was in the direct center of Captain Lawrence¡¯s camp, leaving him with a very silent Sven who was still standing directly to his left. Fortunately, most of the other mercenaries no longer perceived him as a potential threat. Only a few of them were still eyeing him with a hand on their weapon. Neither he or Sven were interested in speaking, so they waited in silence for the mercenary to come back. Thankfully, he came back almost immediately. Dante was immediately motioned forward by the mercenary. ¡°Captain says to bring you over.¡± Dante needed no further prodding. He quickly followed after the mercenary and was led to the large tent in center of the camp. The tent flap was opened for him, and Dante stepped through. As soon as Dante walked into the tent he was greeted by a voice. ¡°Please sit¡± The large tent was multiroomed, and the section he stepped into was like a small office. Other than the desk ¨C and the man sitting behind it ¨C the room was covered in small oddities. He didn¡¯t recognize most of the items, but recognized some. Those were parts of different creatures, enchanted items, and even artificed items. It was hard to judge the worth of the items, but the best enchantment on display was a tier 2. That didn¡¯t make him too optimistic about the other items¡¯ quality. The man behind the desk was Captain Lawrence. Easily identifiable by his distinct features; the long nose and wide eyes that Jayden had previously identified him by. Other than those two things, Captain Lawrence was rather unremarkable. He was clean shaven with short brown hair that was carefully combed into place. Also worth mentioning was the captain¡¯s nasally voice. Which, in combination with his strict persona, gave him an almost pretentiously authoritarian air. He reminded Dante of the teacher that taught mana manipulation at the academy. Killing him was already sounding quite delightful. Dante accepted the invitation to sit, immediately becoming aware of the fact that the two mercenaries that escorted him into the tent didn¡¯t leave. That was problematic. ¡°What did Adrian send you for?¡± Captain Lawrence had his elbows resting on the desk, fingers interlaced in a manner that looked both contemplative and condescending. It was obvious that he had already been awake, despite the late hour. Dante reflected for the briefest moment. None of the reports he had read regarding Captain Kloss mentioned his first name. It was possible that Captain Lawrence was testing him, feeling out if he was really sent by Captain Kloss by using a false name, but he thought it unlikely. Or at least less likely. Dante pointedly glanced back at the two mercenaries that followed him into the tent. ¡°The subject matter is rather¡­ delicate.¡± Captain Lawrence wasn¡¯t bothered by their presence. ¡°I am already wasting my time with this nonsense, just come out with it.¡± The ¡®nonsense¡¯ that Captain Lawrence was talking about was likely their pending agreement with the new Warlord. In all likeliness, Captain Lawrence was under assumption that he had come to gauge his position. That was actually the excuse he was going to use to get Captain Lawrence alone. Obviously, that wouldn¡¯t work. Captain Lawrence didn¡¯t look bothered to discuss that matter in front of his mercenaries. ¡°This really should be handled carefully.¡± As Dante spoke his mind was racing, thinking up different reasons for being there and trying to deduce which would have the best outcome if used. Captain Lawrence spoke, irritation seeping into his voice. ¡°Speak or leave.¡± Dante briefly looked back at the two mercenaries with apprehension. ¡°Captain Kloss was contacted by the enemy commander.¡± Captain Lawrence¡¯s gaze sharpened, then he looked down at his interlaced fingers in contemplation. After several seconds his eyes shifted back to Dante. ¡°Leave us, say nothing of what you¡¯ve heard.¡± No further command was needed, the two mercenaries silently shuffled out of the tent. During the entire process Captain Lawrence didn¡¯t take his eyes off of Dante. The captain was likely trying to intimidate him, but he found it hard to be fearful of someone he was preparing to kill. ¡°Explain yourself.¡± Admittedly, Dante was fond of the concise way Captain Lawrence spoke. There were no extra words spoken, and he got right to the point. It was a shame that his nasally voice was almost unbearable to listen to. ¡°The captain has received two offers tonight. One from Captain Kinton, and one from the enemy commander. He sent me to ask if you had received similar offers, and what your intentions are. My Captain believes that it would be in your best interest, and his, to work together in this matter.¡± As he spoke, Captain Lawrence tensed. It was slight, but Dante noticed. Prior to the new information Captain Kloss¡¯ decision was a given. He would side with the new Warlord and Captain Lawrence. The three would then work together to eliminate Captain Williams. The overall power of the army would fracture, but they would still be in a strong position. But if Captain Kloss turned traitor, Captain Lawrence¡¯s position was nowhere near as stable. It was even in danger. If he had received the same offer the decision would at least be in his hands. But now his fate was up to Captain Kloss to decide. Despite tensing slightly, Captain Lawrence¡¯s expression remained unchanged. ¡°Tell Captain Kloss that I am still considering the matter. A rash decision now would only lead to calamity when there are so many eyes looking in from outside.¡± Dante stopped himself from physically reacting to the captain¡¯s words. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Captain Lawrence unlaced his fingers to wave dismissively at him. ¡°Tell your captain what I said. Naturally, he will understand.¡± Dante nodded and stood. Questioning the captain further wasn¡¯t a possibility, no matter how much he would have liked to. Dante turned toward the tent¡¯s flap. Then, when his body was positioned correctly, Blinked behind Captain Lawrence as he created a dagger. One hand wrapped around the captain¡¯s mouth, silencing him, the other hand plunged a dagger through the captain¡¯s ribs and into his heart. It was the assassination method Victoria had taught him. It wasn¡¯t the quickest method when it came to killing, but it was the cleanest without breaking his target''s neck or suffucating them. Dante repeated his earlier actions, moving the body to the captain¡¯s bed and cleaning the blood while storing any evidence of the captain¡¯s death. It was more than likely that Captain Lawrence¡¯s body would be discovered by one of his mercenaries, but that wouldn¡¯t necessarily be a bad thing. Not only did they think he was a part of Captain Kloss¡¯ mercenary group, but the two mercenaries that were inside of the tent previously thought that Captain Kloss was in the midst of negotiations with the enemy. The obvious conclusion, or suspicion, would be that Captain Kloss had turned traitor and sent an assassin. That would be disproven when they found his body, but by then it would be impossible to sift through the chaos. He just needed to kill his last target before that happened. Chapter 111 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 111 Dante looked over the tent before he stepped out. To be specific, he looked over Captain Lawrence¡¯s various oddities. He had already been disappointed twice, both times when he checked the two captains¡¯ wrists for Classifications as he carried them to their beds. In both cases, he already had them. After his eyes scanned over each item he decided to take nothing. Not only did everything seem rather cheap, but taking something could lead to the captain being found sooner if someone noticed that there were items missing. He still wasn¡¯t optimistic about the mercenaries thinking Captain Lawrence was asleep, but there was no point in destroying the chance of that happening for a mercenary leader¡¯s trash. Dante looked over the tent for a second time, then created a flat blade to look at his own reflection. Sneaking away last time was easy when no one was paying attention. This time he would be escorted out. After making sure that there was no blood on him, and that his clothing was in order, Dante broke up the sword and stepped out of the tent. Dante walked out with a slightly pleased expression. Which would hopefully make the mercenaries less suspicious that something went wrong and less likely to go into the tent to check in on their captain. Even after they found the body, thinking back on his expression would only confirm their suspicions that someone from Captain Kloss¡¯ mercenary group killed their captain. Waiting outside the tent were Sven and the other mercenary that had initially greeted him. They were standing a few yards away and watching the tent with hands on weapons, ready to charge in at the slightest disturbance, but far enough away to not hear what was being spoken inside. Seeing him step out the two relaxed, taking hands off weapons and moving toward him. While Sven moved back to his usual position on Dante¡¯s left, the other mercenary noted his pleased expression. ¡°I take it things went well.¡± It was a statement, not a question. Dante still answered anyways. Nodding, he replied carefully. ¡°Indeed. I was slightly worried after my initial reception, but I think my captain will be thoroughly reassured when he hears of what transpired in our meeting.¡± The mercenary seemed to understand. ¡°The captain may seem a bit strict, but he¡¯s a good sort.¡± Even the quiet Sven gave a slight nod of ascent. After hearing that the meeting with their captain went well the two appeared to hold him in higher regard. He was escorted out of the camp without complications. Dante¡¯s first move was to get changed. After that, finding him would be impossible. To get to his next target, he would need to backtrack a bit. Which unfortunately meant crossing the path of some of the guards he had seen earlier. To circumvent that issue, Dante once again took the risk of changing behind a large tent in a relatively dark area, then walked toward the mage¡¯s location in a roundabout fashion. He also changed into a uniform that he hadn¡¯t used previously, and one that belonged to a mercenary group located close to the mage¡¯s camp. Because time was now of the essence, he didn¡¯t change directions every time he saw a guard. He just continued walking with purpose. When stopped, he would tell them that he had just finished carrying out the orders of his captain and was in the process of returning. When asked what those orders were, he told them it was confidential. The guards didn¡¯t like the response, but given the circumstances, they understood the reason for it. Dante continued like that for roughly thirty minutes before making it to ¡®his¡¯ camp. Sequestered off in its own area nearby was the mercenary group that was made up of magic Classifications. It was one of the smaller camps, only made up of roughly twenty mercenaries, but he didn¡¯t dare act rashly. More than likely at least half of them were the standard Mage Classification, the other half might have a Classification or skill that could surprise him though. And he couldn¡¯t be certain if any of them had scout-like Classifications that could detect him. It was the main reason that he had saved the mage for last. He may not be able to kill the mage undetected, but at this point remaining undetected didn¡¯t matter as long as he could still escape. As he neared, he became aware of the fact that he was likely correct about one of the mages having a scout-like Classification or skill. The isolated area surrounding the mage camp had infrequent mana fluctuations swirling around the camp that even extended upward. There were infrequent gaps in the mana as it swirled, but those gaps were brief. Even an arrow shot by a Ranger would be hard pressed to get through untouched.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. There was almost no hope in getting through without activating whatever the skill was. Even with Blink. The real question was if it was actually a detection skill, or if it was something else. Dante¡¯s eyes scanned over the camp. Aside from the tents - and the mercenaries that were presumably located inside them - it was devoid of people. He studied those tents carefully, trying to see which contained his target, but found no irregularities. They were all the same. Even straining his senses were useless. He heard the mutterings of conversations. But understanding what was being said from this distance was impossible when every word was being dampened by the tent they originated from. Dante was at an impasse, unsure of how to proceed. That was when he heard the first horn. It was faint, but even he knew what the horn meant. An enemy attack. And the direction the horn originated from was the same as the direction of Captain Lawrence¡¯s camp. Dante moved quickly as other mercenary groups picked up their horns and repeated the call, distancing himself from the mercenary group he was wearing the uniform of so that there wouldn¡¯t be unnecessary complications. Mercenaries began to stream out of tents, more than one of them completely naked with a weapon in hand. Dante made a deft motion as he created a long dagger, making it look like he had drawn it from a hidden location. Then he matched the men streaming out of the tent as he too looked around for the enemy. Seeing him looking around, anyone who glanced at him did so briefly. On the bright side, the mercenary group made up of mages was similarly affected. They were slower than the rest, and none of them left their tent without being completely dressed. Among them was his target, the mage with ¡®the ugly silver streaks in his hair¡¯ that Jayden had pointed out. Coming out of his tent just behind him was a woman, and seeing her gave Dante pause. She looked completely normal and unassuming, but there was something off about her. Dante continued to shift his gaze as he pretended to look around for signs of an attack. The camp had entered into a state of chaos. If the men could find the danger it wouldn¡¯t have been that bad. But since both they and their captains didn¡¯t know what was happening, the unknown threat began to cause unrest. News would soon spread from Captain Lawrence¡¯s camp and things would calm, but his target, or more specifically the woman next to him, didn¡¯t seem keen on waiting. She was arguing with him in a low tone, nudging him in the back as she did so. Dante finally understood what was off about her. It was the relationship dynamic between her and the mage captain. When he first saw them exit the tent, he assumed that the woman was his wife or carrying out a role that was similar in capacity, but that seemed to conflict with her body language. If anything, she appeared to be ordering him around. Dante moved, edging closer to the two as he neared the area of isolation that protected the mage camp. No matter how close he got, he couldn¡¯t hear anything that the woman was saying. The mage captain finally spoke to the woman, and Dante could barely make out the words over the sound of the horns and clamoring combatants. ¡°Yes, yes, just get your hand off of me.¡± That earned him another nudge ¨C or prod ¨C forward. The mage looked at his men. ¡°Stay here, I¡¯ll be back momentarily.¡± The mercenaries looked at him and the woman with interest, but chose to hold their tongues. From the glances they gave their captain, it appeared as though none of them recognized the woman who had stepped out of his tent. The two seemed to completely ignore what was going on around them as they stepped out of the mage¡¯s mercenary camp and into the crowd of soldiers preparing for a fight with weapons drawn. Without a choice, Dante followed. ¡°Get back to your camps!¡± After walking for only a few feet Dante felt himself being shoved in the side and turned to see a gruff mercenary leader barking orders at him. Dante quickly saluted to the captain. ¡°Sir.¡± The response was ignored as the mercenary leader turned back to his men. ¡°Camden, call roll! Find out who is missing.¡± Dante walked directly away from the captain, which caused his path to deviate. His eyes stayed on his target and the woman shoving him forward. If they continued without changing their trajectory they would leave the camp in the direction of the forest nearby. He was debating whether or not he should make a move. If he acted quickly he could take advantage of the momentary unrest. But if he waited, the woman and mage may isolate themselves on their own. Dante quickened his pace. If he could create an opportunity, he would take advantage of it. He pushed his speed to the limits of what could be defined as a walk. The pace did garner a few looks, but he was pretty much ignored. The men were looking for an enemy, not a single combatant wearing a uniform that belonged to one of their mercenaries. Unfortunately, he was unable to walk fast enough. As he began to close in on the pair, only a dozen or so feet away, they stepped past the last mercenary group¡¯s camp. They were no longer within the confines of army. Dante stopped on the camps edge, looking around incredulously at the other combatants. For some reason, no one shouted for the pair to stop. It wasn¡¯t as though they knew who the pair were and didn¡¯t dare to, their curious glances and scrunching of eyes as they tried to make out who they were was indication enough of that. No one seemed to care that they were walking toward the forest, after all, the enemy army was in the opposite direction. Another oddity he noticed as he had neared the woman was the slight fluctuation of mana on the hand that was resting on the mage captain¡¯s back. It made him hesitate. If the woman was going to kill the mage captain for him that would make things far simpler. It was possible she was working for Captain Williams, the other contender for the new Warlord position. Dante stood on the edge of the camp, unsure of what move to make as the two continued to fade in the darkness and walk toward the forest. Ultimately, he decided to silently follow. Even if the woman was going to kill the mage, he needed to make sure he was dead. Chapter 112 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 112 Dante walked alongside the edge of the army¡¯s territory until he was far enough away from mage and the woman to remain unheard. Then, he similarly walked out of the camp, waiting until he was hidden from view before filling his legs with world essence and sprinting to the forest. Once Dante made it to the forest, he cut in, moving back toward where the mage captain and the woman leading him should have entered the forest. His speed in doing so was somewhat unnecessary, it took around thirty minutes of remaining silent before he heard anything. Dante peered out of the forest, watching the two figures that were moving at an abhorrent pace. The mage captain slowed his steps, which practically brought him to a standstill. ¡°Must you act like such a brute? It¡¯s not like I did anything wrong.¡± The woman silently pushed the whining mage captain forward. Due to the poor lighting and the distance he was viewing from, Dante couldn¡¯t see the expression on her face, but judging from her body language she was quite frustrated. The mage captain glanced back in a disgruntled manner before he continued to walk forward. ¡°Wait until Jax hears about this.¡± The woman spoke, and for the first time Dante heard what she said, likely because she didn¡¯t feel a need to dampen the sound after leaving the camp. Much like the woman in general, her voice could only be described as unassuming. Nothing about it stood out. ¡°He¡¯s dead.¡± The mage captain froze, no longer moving forward. He seemed shocked by the news. The woman didn¡¯t stop though, she just continued to push him forward. The mage¡¯s voice was full of surprise. ¡°How?¡± ¡°How do you think?¡± Now he could be certain that the woman was frustrated, her tone made it clear enough. The mood drastically changed, any resistance that the mage captain put up was gone. He now walked forward without being urged. Dante watched the two walk past the tree he was perched on as they moved deeper into the forest. He didn¡¯t move to immediately follow. Instead, he waited until he could barely hear their footsteps with his heightened senses before Blinking across the treetops. He followed behind them at a steady pace, having no issue keeping up with the mana cost of Blink. The long journey gave him plenty of time to contemplate who these people were. Initially, he assumed that they were working for Captain Williams. After all, the captain had plenty of reason to get rid of the mage. That conclusion became increasingly unlikely though. Even if he ignored the conversation he overheard, there was no need to go so far into the forest to dispatch someone. He thought that the highest probability was that they were part of the assassin¡¯s guild, but that also shouldn¡¯t be possible. Putting the matter of Victoria placing a boycott on the enemy army aside, he didn¡¯t know what their objective could be. The mage carried a decent amount of influence, according to Jayden, but his presence in the war thus far was practically nonexistent. If the mage was an assassin, he had likely spent the past few months waiting for an opportunity to dispatch his target. And if that were the case, Dante was the most likely person to be targeted. It was an hour later before the pair stopped moving, to Dante¡¯s relief. He thought that they would never reach their destination. So much time had elapsed that the night was coming to an end. The sun had yet to peak over the horizon, but the sky was already starting to brighten. The arrival at their destination was indicated by low hissing. It was an obvious warning hiss and seemed to come from three different sources. The noise was remarkably similar to the sound made by the blue bellied lizard he had killed with Victoria, yet far louder. He didn¡¯t know what type of creature was making the noise, but it was massive, and there were three of them. There was a sharp cracking noise that Dante couldn¡¯t identify the cause of and everything went silent. Then a masculine voice he hadn¡¯t heard before spoke up. ¡°Where is the boy, don¡¯t tell me you killed him?¡± The voice was gruff and gravelly. It was the kind of voice Dante heard from the most hardened veterans in his army. Dante¡¯s eyes narrowed after hearing the voice. If he was being targeted it would be best to hide and wait for Victoria¡¯s return. ¡°Well,¡± the mage captain said with trepidation. ¡°That¡¯s not exactly the case. There were a few unforeseen complications.¡± ¡°Unforeseen complications?¡± The woman cut in. ¡°Like what, becoming the captain of a mercenary group and fighting in a fucking war?¡± Dante winced, he hadn¡¯t heard anyone speak that venomously since Melisandre left. ¡°No,¡± the mage captain was indignant. ¡°You don¡¯t know what I¡¯ve been through, that kid is a monster. If he didn¡¯t think I was already dead¡­ I don¡¯t even dare to think of what the consequences would be.¡± ¡°If he thinks you are already dead, why were you staying in plain sight?¡± The woman interjected. ¡°I¡¯m not stupid,¡± the mage said proudly. ¡°When I made my initial move, I hid my appearance.¡± There was a brief pause. ¡°Where is Tristen and Bannon?¡± The gruff voice answered. ¡°Dead.¡± The mage uttered a curse. ¡°This was a Goddess dammed suicide mission. And how exactly am I being blamed for acting with caution? At least I¡¯ve kept an eye on my target, we can still go get him.¡± ¡°For all the good that does us,¡± the woman shot back. ¡°Julien is long gone. Left over a month ago.¡± The mage groaned upon receiving the news. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you two already head back? Rohan is going to be angry enough from Jax¡¯s death as it is. If he gets this news late¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯ve spent the past month in this damn forest waiting for you!¡± The woman was practically seething. The mage spoke meekly. ¡°You could have just come and got-¡± ¡°And risk alerting the Aldrasa?! Are you out of your mind?¡± Judging by the sound of her voice, the woman was close to becoming violent. ¡°If she wasn¡¯t there I would have dragged your ass out of that camp a month ago.¡± Aldrasa was likely an assassin title or something similar that referred to Victoria. He didn¡¯t know how they would have identified Victoria as one without at least getting near her though. It was apparent that Victoria¡¯s recent departure was the reason that this woman had finally made her move though.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°It wasn¡¯t exactly my idea to get close to her, she arrived after I did. The only thing I could do was maintain a low profile and keep an eye on my target.¡± The mage sounded as though he had been wronged. ¡°So¡­¡± He spoke carefully. ¡°What are we going to do now?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± The woman¡¯s words became ever so slightly sharper. ¡°What I mean,¡± the mage said conspiratorially, ¡°is that we would be better off dead than returning to Rohan with the way this mission turned out. Why not just stay? Live the easy life for once. It wouldn¡¯t be a stretch for them to think us dead. After all, we did lose three people.¡± There was a long stretch of silence, and although Dante couldn¡¯t see what was happening, he had a feeling that the mage¡¯s proposal wasn¡¯t well received. ¡°Is that a joke?¡± The gruff voice¡¯s tone was completely flat. ¡°How could it be a joke?¡± The mage was incredulous. ¡°Failing the mission was bad enough, but losing Jax is another matter altogether. Even I have cause for concern. I can¡¯t imagine how the two of you could be any better off. What sounds better, Cyrus, a taste of the easy life, or a few years of punishment at the hands of Marcus?¡± This time after the mage spoke there was no silence, just the sudden sound of turbulent, roaring fire that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. Dante was still trying to make out what the sound was when it came to a sudden stop. The woman sucked in a sharp breath that was clearly audible, despite the distance. ¡°I know he was annoying, but did you have to kill him? If his uncle finds out¡­¡± ¡°He wont. Get this cleaned up.¡± The gruff voice briefly paused before turning accusatory. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you made me waste a month waiting for this trash.¡± ¡°We couldn¡¯t just leave him,¡± the woman sulked. ¡°The Goddess only knows how much trouble he would¡¯ve gotten into if the Aldrasa hadn¡¯t been nearby.¡± There was a grunt of agreement. ¡°Still,¡± the woman spoke as though she was in the process of completing some menial task. ¡°You could have let me know you were going to kill him. We already waited a month, stretching things out for a few more hours, or days, wouldn¡¯t have made such a large difference.¡± Dante made a mental note not to get too close to these two in the future. Killing someone for a small suggestion was bad enough, but the woman sounded borderline psychotic. ¡°All done.¡± She wasn¡¯t answered, but the creatures that growled when they first arrived seemed to come back to life. He could hear low rumbling and the flapping of wings as something stretched out and prepared to depart. There was more flapping, then commanding shouts from both the man and the woman as the creatures leapt out of the treetops. Dante peered out of the trees from a distance, watching the three massive lizards spread their wings in the poor lighting. Dante sucked in a large breath. Even from a distance, the green wyrms were clearly identifiable. He knew that there were people used them as mounts, but seeing them in person for the first time was somewhat surreal. When it came to their ability to fly, green wyrms were much like raptors. Perhaps slightly faster if they were older, but also losing out when it came to the duration at which they could fly. Green wyrms were vastly superior offensively though. Their status as a fourth-tier creature alone was enough to let him know how terrifying they were, and the fact that they often turned on their riders made them creatures that were seldom sought after as a mount. Dante waited a few minutes after their figures disappeared on the horizon. Then, after making sure they weren¡¯t coming back, moved to the clearing where they had been only moments ago. The first thing that drew his eyes was the section of scorched earth. Not only was it still extremely hot, but some of the rock underneath looked as though it had melted. Whatever skill that person used was ridiculously powerful. From what he had heard, he was quite certain that the mage was dead, but there was no indication of that from the patch of burnt ground. No corpse, no ash, and no burnt items that might have indicated a person had previously died there. The woman had likely cleaned hidden any evidence of the murder. Judging by the fact they had waited for the mage for a month, and by the woman¡¯s response after he died, he could be pretty sure that the mage had a somewhat extraordinary status. In other words, he had excellent material to blackmail them. Unfortunately, the only name he knew was Cyrus, and he would only be able to recognize the woman. Dante looked around the clearing. Nothing else really caught his notice. There was a firepit and a lot of wyrm feces, but otherwise it was quite empty. He headed back toward his army¡¯s encampment, finding the entire situation he had just witnessed to be completely interesting. Especially after the pleasant surprise of not being the target they were talking about. He found that being a bystander was thoroughly enjoyable. It did make him wonder who the mage¡¯s target was. After all, it was someone in his army. One very annoying person was the most obvious suspect. After making it out of the forest, he stumbled upon a pleasing development. Captain Williams made his move. Dante¡¯s eyes were immediately drawn to where Captain Lawrence¡¯s mercenary group was confronting Captain Kloss¡¯, as it seemed to have sparked the ensuing madness. Those two groups were at a complete standstill, and although there appeared to be tension between the two groups, there seemed to be more confusion than hostility. Next to them was Captain Williams, his mercenary group was cutting the two groups off from the section of the camp that Captain Kinton controlled. All of his mercenaries and subsidiary mercenary groups had weapons drawn as they lined up. From what he could tell, they were going to fight with Captain Kinton soon. Unfortunately for Captain Kinton, the two dead captains hadn¡¯t told their men that they intended to align with him. And even if they did, the new captains would likely have their own ambitions. So, all Captain Williams needed to do was keep them sequestered until the fighting started. Dante took advantage of the chaos to squeeze through the army. Then he spent a few minutes convincing his men to let him in, avoiding quite a few arrows from both sides in the process. Almost immediately after entering the camp Jayden rushed over to greet him, pushing away the combatants surrounding him with weapons drawn. ¡°Dear brother, so good to see you doing well. I presume that you were successful?¡± As soon as the combatants heard ¡®dear brother¡¯ they all frowned. Then they looked at each other, then shifted their eyes to him. They all knew that Jayden only addressed one person like that. The combatants quickly sheathed their weapons before saluting with a unified ¡°sir!¡± Dante waved them all off, grabbing Jayden by the shoulder and leading him away. ¡°Could you stop calling me that?¡± Jayden actually seemed to consider it, taking a moment before answering. ¡°No.¡± Dante rubbed his face, removing the light layer of dirt that helped mask his features. ¡°Things did go well. The mage captain was quite troublesome though, what made you single him out?¡± He studied Jayden carefully as he waited for a reply. The mage had said that his target thought him dead, which was likely true if Jayden was the target. From what he knew of Jayden, he would have ruthlessly eliminated the mage as quickly as possible if he knew of the mage¡¯s existence, not waited months. But if Jayden somehow knew about the mage and then sent him, that was another matter altogether. That would have been complete manipulation. He didn¡¯t know what he would do if that were the case, but he would need to get rid of Jayden at the very least. ¡°The way he interacted with the other captains was strange.¡± Jayden shrugged. ¡°Even those of higher rank deferred to him. So, after he aligned to Captain Kinton I decided that he was an unnecessary variable.¡± Dante nodded as they continued to walk toward his command tent in silence. Then, when they arrived, he turned to Jayden and asked a question in an offhanded manner. ¡°I never asked. How did you get conscripted into Warlord Vidal¡¯s army?¡± ¡°Conscripted?¡± Jayden scoffed. ¡°If anything, I conscripted him. Some hooligan in a mask was following me, so I used Warlord Vidal¡¯s troops to eliminate him.¡± ¡°Why would anyone want to kill you?¡± Dante said in a sarcastic manner. ¡°Dear brother, next time someone in a mask is shooting bolts of lightning at me, I¡¯ll be sure to ask why.¡± Jayden said with equal sarcasm. Dante instructed Jayden to notify him if there were any major changes before going into his tent. He had all of his preliminary questions answered. Victoria would be a massive help in finding the truth of the matter when she returned. He slumped into his bed, looking sullenly at the fox that was already wrapped in the expensive furs he used as blankets. Both he and Shade had a love for sleep, but only one of them was constantly deprived of it, which was so unfair. Chapter 113 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 113 Victoria flew back into camp the following day with four ¡®borrowed¡¯ raptors. When he found her, she was intently studying the battlefield, which was now a complete mess. Warlord Kinton was long gone, he left after losing almost a quarter of his total mercenaries in the initial fighting. Currently, Warlord Williams was trying to absorb Captain Kloss and Lawrence¡¯s factions, but the new captains weren¡¯t having it. Those two groups looked like they were going to come together to fight Williams the day before, but the initial negotiations broke down when neither side were willing to submit to the other, so now there were three factions fighting outside of the camp. And all three had already sent messengers to him, ready to negotiate his surrender, which was now laughable. Then, when he ignored the messengers, all three sent new messengers ready to discuss a partnership if he helped them defeat the other two. Needless to say, he rejected all three. After Warlord Kinton left, his army had just as many combatants as all three factions put together. He had discussed what to do with his army in great detail with Jayden, and the two had jointly decided to send the mercenaries to Sloria. He wasn¡¯t sure of the decision at first, but Jayden insisted and he really didn¡¯t mind. He had already collected the mercenary leaders, binding them to mana contracts that would force them to release the conscripted troops on the way. As Dante approached, Victoria looked away from the battlefield and looked at him with surprise. ¡°You cut your hair?¡± Dante touched his now shortened hair, he had almost forgotten that he cut it with how busy he had been. ¡°That¡¯s what you¡¯re surprised about?¡± He pointed at three factions fighting outside of the camp. ¡°What about that?¡± He was hoping to get some recognition at the very least. Victoria basically ignored him, she had one hand propped up on her chin has he inspected his hair. ¡°I¡¯m surprised because Melisandre talked to me for almost an hour about how you refused to let her touch it. Did you find a girlfriend while I was gone?¡± Dante was speechless. He had solved everything through assassination, so he though Victoria would at least be somewhat proud of him. ¡°Are you serious?¡± ¡°No.¡± There was a subtle smirk on her face as she relaxed her posture. ¡°What happened?¡± Dante led Victoria to his tent and gave her a breakdown of everything that happened, including the people he had run into in the forest. She didn¡¯t seem surprised to be called an Aldrasa, saying that it was a type of Assassin and not elaborating further. Then he told her the rest of their conversation, carefully recalling each name he heard. He even told her of how he suspected Jayden being their target, but she seemed to be too hung up on the name Julien after he mentioned it. He noted her beaming smile. ¡°You know each other?¡± Victoria shook her head. ¡°We know of each other, to be precise. If it¡¯s who I think it is, a lot of people I don¡¯t like have a much higher chance of dying now.¡± Her expression turned serious. ¡°You should be more careful in the future. Any well-equipped group has a sensory Classification. They likely lost theirs, but if they hadn¡¯t, things could have become deadly.¡± She was correct about that. ¡°What about Jayden?¡± She seemed to have zoned out by the time he reached that point in the conversation, so he brought it back up. Her head tilted lightly to the side. ¡°You are probably correct.¡± This conversation was far less productive than he had thought it would be.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Victoria continued. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you more after you finish with Jace.¡± That was almost answer enough. Any time he asked Victoria about something that pertained to the inner regions, Melisandre, wraiths, or even the upcoming campaign, he received the same reply. She changed subjects. ¡°So, how did your first real assassination mission go?¡± He already told her how it went, but Victoria was really asking about how he felt about it. Dante shrugged. ¡°The entire thing was a bit of a mess, especially when it came to sneaking around. Overall, I¡¯m not really a fan.¡± ¡°What about the killing itself?¡± She asked with genuine curiosity. ¡°I remember a year ago you still held that against me.¡± He considered it. Back then, he really did think less of Victoria because she was an assassin. It wasn¡¯t that he thought killing was wrong, it was killing when it wasn¡¯t necessary that he thought was wrong. And doing it for pay was even worse. But he had done just as much when he and Victoria raided Warlord Karabell¡¯s caravans, and he didn¡¯t regret that at all. Now he didn¡¯t know what to think. It wasn¡¯t that he thought killing without reason was ¡®right,¡¯ it just didn¡¯t matter. Not only was he desensitized to the act itself, but anything being right or wrong just seemed so preposterous. So arbitrary. If he wanted to kill someone, killing them was the right thing for him to do. If he wanted to keep someone alive, like the combatants in his camp, keeping them alive was the right thing for him to do. His reasoning didn¡¯t matter in either situation. As long as he had the power to do what he wanted, he was in the right. Dante shrugged and answered honestly. ¡°What I did was insignificant. I had a reason to kill them, so I did. If you¡¯re wondering how I feel about your profession¡­ I still don¡¯t really know how I feel about killing for money, but it doesn¡¯t bother me that you do it, or did it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s progress I suppose.¡± Victoria stood and stretched, the hint of a smile on her face. ¡°Did you already get enough world essence to specialize your Classification? We need to get going if you still want to handle Addison¡¯s matter before we fly back to where the fight is taking place.¡± He nodded. The fighting that took place after Warlord Karabell ambushed him provided him enough world essence on its own. ¡°Where should we drop her off at?¡± He already gave his orders to the remaining mercenary captains and bound them to contracts to stop any infighting, so he could leave them at any time. Victoria shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. After the raids that were carried out by the wraiths a few months ago, this entire region has become chaotic. Everyone is foolishly preparing for some apocalyptic event.¡± Dante rubbed his forehead. Preparing for some apocalyptic event sounded quite sensible in his opinion. ¡°If you¡¯re not going to explain the situation to me, could you at least stop saying things like they¡¯re common sense.¡± It almost felt like she was baiting out questions that she wouldn¡¯t answer, which was incredibly frustrating. He didn¡¯t understand her reasoning for keeping everything from him, but didn¡¯t really care as long as she told him eventually. The region being chaotic was a problem though. It meant he would need to go far to find a decent location to drop off Addison. ¡°What about Sloria?¡± It did feel somewhat pointless to send Addison the same place he was sending the mercenaries, but he didn¡¯t really have a choice aside from takinger her himself when he was bound by a contract he needed to complete. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how things in Sloria have developed,¡± Victoria said. ¡°That mercenary leader that you offended might have seized power by now.¡± That was definitely a potential problem. ¡°We might as well fly over and check. Worst case scenario, we can bring her with us and drop her off on the way to wherever we are going after.¡± Victoria gave him a level look, her expression complicated. ¡°After we finish off Jace and his master, I¡¯ll be returning to my branch of the guild alone.¡± She paused to gauge his reaction. ¡°The person I left in charge is quite capable, it will take me a few months to resolve whatever mess he has created. And if you were to come with me, there is a very small chance that you would survive.¡± Dante broke the awkward silence with a slight nod. ¡°We should leave immediately, I¡¯ll collect my things and meet you by the raptors.¡± Victoria acknowledged what he said before walking out of the tent, but Dante was no longer listening. He just continued to stare into space, not sure what to think about Victoria leaving him. It wasn¡¯t as though he thought that he would always be following Victoria around. And he definitely didn¡¯t think that he would be able to survive an onslaught of assassins that would rather poison him than confront him in a fair fight. But he hadn¡¯t thought that her departure would be so abrupt. Dante stood, ignoring the tight feeling in his chest as he stored his few belongings. Chapter 114 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 114 After gathering his things, he, Victoria, Jayden, and Addison saddled the raptors that Victoria brought and immediately set off. They didn¡¯t alert anyone to their departure. In his opinion, he had already done enough for the people within the army. Whether or not they survived was no longer his concern. Besides, he was no longer in the mood to deal with others. He planned on spending the entirety of the two-day flight in deep contemplation. That plan was disrupted though. After flying for more than a day, putting them only a few hours away from their destination, Victoria pulled her raptor up beside his. He looked at her questioningly, but her eyes were trained on something on the distant ground below them. He shifted his gaze in that direction as well but was unable to see anything out of the ordinary. They were flying over a mid-sized mountain range that was cut in half by a stream that ran through its entirety. Other than the sparse vegetation, the only think that he could see of note was Shadow, Victoria¡¯s bird that had been flying alongside them only moments ago. By the looks of things, Shadow was flying lower to search for something. ¡°I¡¯ll see you in Sloria. If there are any issues just wait for me close by,¡± Victoria shouted, the words obstructed by the wind to such an extent that he could barely make them out, no matter how good his hearing. After shouting at him Victoria threw her raptor into a straight dive. Only pulling up when she was at the same elevation as Shadow. Once she was lower to the ground Victoria began to fly in wide circles, her head moving side to side as she scanned the ground beneath her. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder what Victoria was looking for. Likely some rare creature whose byproduct was useful. Similar situations often happened when they were training in the forest. Sometimes Victoria¡¯s hunts would go on for several hours, despite having the aid of Shadow. He wasn¡¯t the only curious one, Addison was looking at him questioningly with her haggard eyes, wondering if they were stopping for some reason. Dante shook his head, indicating that she should keep flying. On his other side, Jayden broke out of his bored trance to look down at what Victoria was doing with interest. That was it though. He didn¡¯t ask whether they were stopping and didn¡¯t appear to care that Victoria had broken off from the group. They continued their flight, sailing through the skies for a few hours before they entered the massive valley that Sloria was located in. Dante looked down at the scene below him with interest, and more than a little shock. Only months ago the large valley was flourishing; filled with lush vegetation, large fields tended by farmers, and even permanent structures as the mercenary groups stationed there prepared to settle down. Now, a majority of those mercenary groups were gone. The plants and fields were marred by large craters, scorched ground, and trenches that spoke of violence. And any of the permanent structures set up previously were in shambles. Even more telling of the violence were the bodies that were left to rot. They were scattered among the ground, sometimes collected into piles and burned, other times left to be picked apart by the scavengers. The corpses must have numbered at least one hundred thousand. That wasn¡¯t to say that the valley had become a wasteland. Even from so far above it was obvious that the valley was undergoing a rebirth. As they flew closer to the city the valley became more densely populated, fields and buildings were in the process of being cleared, and all of the bodies had long been cleared. The large patches of sifted dirt indicating that they had been thrown into mass graves, a scene he had become familiar with in the past months. Next to him, Jayden and Addison were also absorbing the horrific sight. Especially Jayden, he looked¡­ worried? His eyes were roaming over the valley in quick and jerkish movements, absorbing everything as though he was trying to piece together what had happened. A trace of concern on his face. As far as mercenary groups went, the valley was still covered in them. He couldn¡¯t discern ¨C or remember ¨C whether or not they were the same that had been there months ago, but their numbers were more than halved. Sitting in the center of the valley, in stark contrast to the destruction and ruin surrounding it, was Sloria. The city was shockingly unblemished by the war that appeared to have taken place around it. The walls looked to have taken a small amount of damage, but as he flew closer he was able to discern that they hadn¡¯t been breached. The outer ring of the city, where a majority of the women and children were sheltered, had come out unscathed. Much to his relief. It also appeared to have been to Jayden¡¯s relief. He relaxed visibly when he saw the city. Not in his posture, but in the way he examined everything. His gaze became far more languid in nature. After making sure that there was no imminent danger, Dante slowly began to glide down. Landing where he had on his previous trip. The storage area for flying mounts that was previously set up outside of the city was gone, likely destroyed during the fighting and cleared away after. In its place was a rather crude section of stone buildings that were quickly thrown together by Geomancers. Each of the buildings that held a single raptor each were covered in windowlike openings that made them resemble cages, none of them having obvious doors. More than likely they had Geomancers on duty, opening and closing makeshift doors into the cage-like buildings until a more permanent structure was developed in their place.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. A short and stout man stepped out from the makeshift buildings to greet them, one stable boy next to him. The man looked over the three of them carefully, hesitant to get too close before feeling out the level of threat. ¡°Greetings. If you plan to stay in Sloria you¡¯ll need to have your mounts stored with us, or somewhere else outside of the city.¡± Dante nodded as he, Jayden, and Addison dismounted. ¡°That¡¯s fine. Last time I came to Sloria I was able to directly pay for feed. Am I still able to do so?¡± The stout man motioned the boy forward. ¡°I¡¯m afraid not. We currently don¡¯t have the workforce required to provide maintenance for our visitors¡¯ mounts. All of our excess workers have been reassigned to help with the cleanup.¡± Given the sight he saw when he was flying over the valley, that was understandable. ¡°By the way, who currently rules the city?¡± ¡°The first lady,¡± the stout man said as he turned back to the makeshift huts. After telling them that they couldn¡¯t bring their mounts in the city his business seemed to be concluded. That was reassuring. Had it been anyone else, he likely would have flown off and waited for Victoria before proceeding. Dante looked to where Jayden and Addison where talking behind him. Well, where Jayden was talking. He was pointing out different sections of the valley and city to Addison as he examined them. Addison just made occasional remarks to be polite. As could be imagined, Addison hadn¡¯t taken her father¡¯s recent death well. Thankfully, it wasn¡¯t hard to get her to leave the mercenaries that had once been under her father. She had basically removed herself from any of the camp¡¯s business after he passed. The loss of a father wasn¡¯t really something he could empathize with, as he didn¡¯t have any similar familial bonds, but he could tell it had drastically affected her. It was like she was an entirely different person, one without any ambitions of her own, which was completely different than how she was before. Dante looked at Addison inquisitively. ¡°What do you think of Sloria?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really know what to make of it. I¡¯ve never seen anything like it before,¡± Addison admitted as she shrugged, her eyes moving back and forth between him and Jayden. ¡°Are you planning on leaving me here?¡± Her tone made it clear that she felt as though she was being abandoned. Dante had the urge to suck in a sharp breath, he had no desire to take part in this uncomfortable conversation. ¡°Only if you want to stay here. If not, there¡¯s no need to rush. We can find somewhere else.¡± He paused briefly, unsure of what to say. ¡°The last time I came here I was surprised how well off the people in the city were. I¡¯m sure that it would be a great place to live.¡± ¡°Miss Addison, it is all about how you look at things. Don¡¯t think of it as us leaving you, but as you leaving us,¡± Jayden unhelpfully added to the side. Their dysfunctional relationship reemerged. Addison stepped toward Jayden, stomping heavily on his foot. Thankfully, Addison appeared to have held back and there was no loud crack of broken bone. That didn¡¯t stop Jayden from clutching his foot and hobbling about as he whined in pain though. ¡°Miss Addison! If you¡¯re feeling brutish you could at least take your excessive aggression out on someone with a combat Classification,¡± Jayden said while looking pointedly at Dante. ¡°Bullying me is unbecoming of you.¡± Addison crossed her arms, looking away from both of them. Well. That was about as good as things could have gone. Dante turned and walked toward the gates. The catastrophic scene in the valley might have been terrible, but it was also quite convenient. The last time he came to Sloria he had to wait in a line for what seemed like an eternity to get into the city. This time there weren¡¯t nearly as many people, and the line was almost nonexistent. He walked up to the dozen or so guards that were watching the gate to be inspected. It was possible that someone in Sloria was looking for him, but he thought it unlikely after so many months had passed. Besides, the people looking for him might no longer be around. After an initial round of questions about why he was visiting Sloria, Dante was let through. He walked through the gate, making it only a few steps before hearing the guard¡¯s exclamation. ¡°Sir, it¡¯s him!¡± The shout¡¯s effect was immediate, and a second followed shortly after. ¡°Quickly, apprehend him!¡± Dante created two daggers, ready to eliminate the guards and escape. But the attack never came. He looked back at the guards who had just shouted. They - along with the other guards watching the gate - were surrounding Jayden, two guards already seizing and lifting him by his arms. By his side, Addison smugly watched the entire scene unfold, despite the potential severity. He considered acting but thought better of it due to how calm Jayden was. He assumed that Jayden had some connection to Sloria with how he acted on the flight in, but still didn¡¯t know what. The guard with the highest rank began to issue orders to his men. ¡°Dugal stay here and watch the gate with Bast. The rest of you follow me.¡± ¡°Stop.¡± Jayden commanded the guards that were lifting him by the arms after only a few steps, bringing the entire scene to a halt as the guards actually did as he said before looking at him with bewilderment. ¡°They are with me,¡± he nodded in the direction of Dante and Addison. The guard who was issuing the orders looked at the two of them. ¡°Bring them along.¡± ¡°Sir,¡± one of the guards holding Jayden said with uncertainty. ¡°We were instructed to ignore anything he said.¡± That was a rather good rule when dealing with Jayden in any capacity. The lead guard looked indecisive, and Jayden took that as his cue to speak. ¡°Good sir, it would behoove you to bring them along.¡± The guard, who had been on the fence, nodded. Speaking decisively. ¡°Bring them.¡± Dante looked at Jayden with a less than amused expression, and in return was given Jayden¡¯s ¡®charming¡¯ smile. Lacking better alternatives, and more than a little curious, Dante allowed himself to be escorted by the guards. Chapter 115 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 115 He, Jayden, and Addison were escorted directly through the first two chamber¡¯s of Sloria and directly into the third before being led into the castle-like keep in its center. He had been in the building before, it was the same place he had met the First Lady previously. They were escorted into the same audience chamber he had seen previously. This time, the long benches on either side where the officials sat were practically empty. The room itself was almost devoid of people. Henry was there, the lively old seneschal. Beside him was the First Lady, she was propped up on her chair with her perfect posture, and even though she wasn¡¯t looking in his direction, her eyes that were so light blue in color that they seemed glacial gave him an eerie feeling. Aside from those two familiar faces, there were six others. One was old, only slightly younger than Henry, and standing next to the First Lady on the opposite side of him, so Dante had a feeling that he occupied a similar position. The other four men appeared to be of higher standing, and where the only ones sitting on the long benches. They were all on the left side of the room and far down the bench, likely to be as close to the First Lady as possible. Of the four, two of them struck Dante as dangerous. The first, a broad shouldered and devilishly handsome dark-haired man in his prime, was sitting the closest to the First Lady. He was resting a hand on his cleanshaven chin in a way that spoke of boredom, but his eyes shone with unrestrained intelligence. Sitting next to him was the other person Dante considered to be a threat. He was relaxed, overly so. His fingers interlocking behind his head as he leaned back in his chair, leaving his elbows propped out in an almost arrogant manner. It couldn¡¯t be said that he was handsome, his looks were average. It was his bearing that would set him apart from a crowd. Of the four, he appeared to be the one in with the most control. As though every action had a purpose. The other two men appeared to be far more straightforward, yet at the same time weren¡¯t people who should be tangled with. Next to the relaxed one was a large brute of a man. If Dante was concerned with combat strength alone, he was the one that should be avoided. His shoulders were perfectly squared, his eyebrows slanted, and the frown that seemed to be a permanent feature on his face gave him a militaristic air. But the overlapping scars from battle that covered every inch of his revealed skin made him look savage. Such a man was frightening, but the militaristic air spoke of a simple methodology that would be easy to predict if he became a problem. The last on the bench, to be blunt, was fat. Incredibly so. He had a plate in front of him and didn¡¯t seemed bothered by those around him as he stuffed his face. Every bite he took caused his jowls to tremble. And with a girth that almost matched his height, he almost looked comical. But in such a setting, Dante knew he couldn¡¯t be normal. Other than those people, the last person in the room that held his attention was a young woman who seemed to be in her late teens. She had her arms crossed as she leaned back on the stone wall near the four men. Her features were refined and her thick black hair was swept back into a loose ponytail. She was beautiful, that was easy to see at a glance, but that wasn¡¯t what held his attention. It was her posture and the way that she carried herself. It was eerily similar to Victoria¡¯s mannerism, yet lacked the almost ethereal aloofness. Regardless, anyone who was similar to Victoria in any way was someone to watch carefully, which was a thought that seemed to be reinforced by what she was wearing. Very much different from most women around her age, she was fully dressed in leather armor. The armor looked brand new, and judging by the damage it had already taken, he could be sure that it wasn¡¯t just for looks. Yes, she was beautiful, but in the same way a predator was. He wouldn¡¯t go near her with a ten-foot pole. Whatever they were talking about came to a screeching halt when the guards entered the room. Their arrival was met with a mixed reception. The two men who he thought to be the most dangerous looked at them with a lackluster interest, the crude man covered in scars seemed thoroughly annoyed, and the fat man seemed too bothered enjoying his food to react to their presence. The First Lady and the young woman were the most reserved, merely shifting her attention to them to see what the commotion was. Or at least that was the case for a moment. When they saw Jayden, everything changed. The four men sat up, adjusting their posture and becoming more attentive like they were preparing to withstand some great threat. Even the fat one stopped eating, any of his nonchalance gone. It was as though their greatest adversary had just entered the room. Even the young woman seemed more interested, but that interest was peaked after noting the reactions of the others. The exception was the and First Lady, when she saw Jayden she slumped back into her chair as though relieved. It was the first time he had ever seen her posture slip. ¡°Dear sister, was it really necessary to have me apprehended like some common criminal?¡± Jayden asked, breaking the silence that had permeated through the room.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. After hearing Jayden¡¯s question, the First Lady gently smiled. In that moment, it seemed like a massive weight had been taken off of her shoulders. She looked at the four men. ¡°My lords, could you please excuse us?¡± That answered one question, these four were the city lords of Sloria. But Dante wasn¡¯t worried about that at the moment, he was in a panic over the other piece of information he had just received. He looked at Jayden. ¡°When you say dear sister, do you mean that you are close friends, or is she your actual sister?¡± Jayden looked back at him. ¡°Of course she is my actual sister. Well, half-sister.¡± Dante and Addison looked at each other, each of them seeing trepidation in the other¡¯s eyes. Dante looked between Jayden and the First Lady, trying to find the resemblance. Whether it was their behavior, disposition, or looks, he didn¡¯t see it. Both of them were in their teens, the First Lady roughly his age and Jayden only two or three years older. As far as looks went, the First Lady was actually far outclassed by Jayden. Where her features were plain, Jayden¡¯s were sharp. He had a face that would universally be considered handsome. While the First Lady¡¯s slightly above average appearance would be completely overshadowed by him had it not been for her shocking eyes. And the difference in their behavior didn¡¯t need to be stated. ¡°Does it seem that strange?¡± Jayden asked as he noticed their perplexity. Dante and Addison both gave a single nod. ¡°Really?¡± Jayden questioned in surprise. ¡°Of all my siblings, Alissa is the only one I get along with.¡± Goddess have mercy, there were more of them. While they were talking the four city lords were filing out of the room. They didn¡¯t seem bothered that they had been abruptly pushed aside. If anything, they seemed happy to leave the room. Henry and the other old man followed after them, leaving him alone with Jayden, Addison, and the First Lady. It was hard not to feel slightly envious of those who were in the process of leaving. Oddly enough, the young woman also stayed, she looked far more interested in Jayden after discovering he was the First Lady¡¯s brother. As soon as everyone left the room the First Lady, or Alissa, looked at Jayden let out an almost unnoticeable sigh. ¡°I thought you were dead,¡± she said so softly that it would go unnoticed if his hearing wasn¡¯t abnormal. ¡°Dear sister, why have you yet to greet me?¡± Jayden asked indignantly. Alissa smiled for a second time, then stood and walked over to Jayden before wrapping him in a warm embrace. After a few seconds she broke away, looking him up and down as though checking for injuries in the process. ¡°Where have you been?¡± Jayden¡¯s eyes drifted to the side, breaking eye contact like a guilty child. ¡°I was merely delayed.¡± Alissa crossed her arms, the poise she had moments ago while acting as the First Lady was gone. Now she was just Jayden¡¯s younger sister, and somehow seemed to hold the authoritative position. ¡°How many times have I told you not to wander off without protection? I don¡¯t think you realize how many people desire to kill you after spending five minutes with you.¡± Dante and Addison, who were silently listening, broke out of their trance to nod in agreement to what Alissa said. Alissa noticed their movement and truly took note of them for the first time. She seemed completely surprised to see Dante, likely remembering that they had met several months ago. ¡°Who are they?¡± Jayden turned smug. ¡°You accused me of wandering off without protection, but you couldn¡¯t have been more wrong. My dear brother wouldn¡¯t have allowed any harm to come to me,¡± he said as though he had just won an argument. Jayden then pointed at Addison. ¡°And she may not look it, but she is quite the brute.¡± Addison was likely enraged, but Dante no longer paid attention to the ongoing discussion. The young woman left her spot by the wall and was silently walking toward them. Something about the grace in which she moved made his senses heighten as he perceived a threat. Dante shut out everything else around him as he prepared to defend if need be. As the woman neared, he picked up her scent. Smell was something he usually ignored, as unsavory smells were far more common than savory ones, but with how alert he was it was impossible to ignore. She didn¡¯t smell of floral perfume like most women in polite society, and she didn¡¯t smell of odor like the combatants in his camp. She smelt of blood. Blood and leather. ¡°This is your brother?¡± the woman asked, her voice normal and unassuming, surprising him. She sounded like any other woman of similar age, which conflicted with the threat he perceived, but not her beautiful appearance. Alissa nodded happily, obviously proud of her brother. ¡°It is. Jayden, this is Diana. Her army was the reason we were able to remove the mercenaries that were soliciting the surrounding territory,¡± Alissa said. ¡°She is quite interested in meeting you.¡± Dante evaluated Alissa¡¯s words. Diana definitely had the necessary bearing to be a successful warlord. Her age was surprising, but didn¡¯t really matter so long as she had the strength that was needed ¡°Dear sister,¡± Jayden whined. ¡°Must you constantly play matchmaker on my behalf?¡± Diana didn¡¯t react to what Jayden said, but Dante saw her pupils dilate. Alissa was both amused and annoyed with his response. ¡°Take this seriously, having her by your side would go a long way toward keeping yourself alive.¡± Jayden looked Diana up and down. ¡°I have no need of her,¡± Jayden said dismissively. ¡°Neither do I have any obligation toward her. I¡¯m sure that you exchanged the dungeon under the keep for her aid, so neither do you.¡± Diana frowned as Alissa nodded in confirmation. Alissa then shifted her attention to Dante as though she had derived some hidden meaning from Jayden¡¯s words. ¡°I am looking for a strategist and your sister has already refused me in favor of ruling this city, might I ask you to reconsider?¡± Diana inquired. Instead of directly answering, Jayden looked at him. ¡°Dear brother, what do you think?¡± What ¡®he thought¡¯ was that it would be nice to be left out this, especially after confirming that Alissa had the same Classification as her brother. That was terrifying. Dante shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not a Strategist.¡± Diana took note of the way that Jayden deferred to him. ¡°Who is this?¡± Alissa was also interested in the question, she looked at Jayden for an answer. Jayden looked at Dante momentarily, as though gauging him. ¡°An assassin I met while he was working for a mercenary group. We get along quite well.¡± Chapter 116 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 116 Jayden¡¯s reply was satisfactory. He didn¡¯t give too much information, nor did he give too little and make them suspicious. It was just enough. And his status as an assassin would also explain his desire to avoid a large conflict during his last visit. He still needed to be on guard around Alissa though. If she was similar to Jayden she was probably drawing her own conclusions from small details. From what he could tell though, the two were vastly different. ¡°I see,¡± Diana turned back to Jayden. ¡°I still think that you should reconsider. It goes without saying that I don¡¯t expect you to help me for free. Once we complete a small task I will give you the tools you need to get five high-grade monster crystals.¡± Diana¡¯s words had an obvious effect, and it was clear that Jayden was interested. ¡°Miss Diana, out of curiosity, how small of a task?¡± ¡°I want to conquer the entirety of the noble¡¯s territory,¡± she said casually. Dante took a very subtle step away from her. It was bad enough when she just reeked of blood, now she was crazy too. Jayden¡¯s head tilted to the side, pondering this new challenge. ¡°I assume that you have more mercenaries than are stationed in this valley?¡± ¡°I can get a little over two million in total,¡± she said. ¡°But it will take me a few weeks to gather them. Also, once I stabilize my position in the noble¡¯s territory I can add another million combatants to our rank and secure any supplies that we might need.¡± Jayden looked at Dante awkwardly, clearing his throat. ¡°Dear brother, I¡¯ve heard that the noble¡¯s territory can be quite relaxing due to the lack of combat Classifications. Why don¡¯t we take a small vacation with miss Diana?¡± Dante crossed his arms over his chest. ¡°No.¡± Jayden looked back to Diana. ¡°I am afraid that I must decline.¡± Diana took note of Dante for a second time, and there was no longer any interest in her gaze. Now she looked at him like he was an obstacle. After a moment she returned her attention back to Alissa. ¡°Your brother said that you have other siblings, do they share your Strategist Classification?¡± Alissa¡¯s smile slipped. ¡°They do, but we don¡¯t keep in touch.¡± Diana crossed her arms over her chest and let out a sigh. Obviously experiencing a setback. Her behavior made him curious. ¡°Is it that hard to find a Strategist?¡± Diana looked at him incredulously. ¡°Yes. They are practically nonexistent in the outer regions. If I hadn¡¯t heard news of Alissa¡¯s Classification I wouldn¡¯t have travelled such a distance to come to this valley.¡± That only made him more curious, but Dante held off his questions in favor of asking either Jayden or Victoria in private. Instead of speaking he tapped Jayden¡¯s leg with his foot and looked meaningfully at Addison, who had for the most part remained silent since they entered the room. Which was likely a wise move on her part. Jayden took the hint. ¡°Dear sister, a friend of ours happens to be down on her luck and is relocating to your magnificent city. Do you think that you could accommodate her?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Alissa said as she looked toward Addison. ¡°Just speak to Henry. He should be waiting for me in the in the hallway behind us. He¡¯ll find you an available room and help you acquire any supplies that you might need.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Addison replied. ¡°I¡¯ll get out of your way then.¡± Without looking back, Addison walked to the hallway Alissa pointed out and left the room. Dante looked between the three people he had been left with. Jayden was bad enough on his own. And he still didn¡¯t know what to make of the other two. ¡°I should probably go with her, I haven¡¯t see Henry in quite a while¡­¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Jayden protested, but Dante ignored him as he walked out of the room. Addison was waiting for him in the connecting hallway. Henry was also there but the two had yet to interact. And the other old man was gone, likely seeing to something else. She was rubbing her eyes and taking deep breaths as she stood with her back against the stone wall. ¡°I can¡¯t stay here.¡± Dante glanced at Henry, the seneschal seemed content to mind his own business. ¡°Why not?¡± Addison ceased rubbing her eyes to look up at him. They were red, as though she was holding back tears. ¡°I just can¡¯t.¡± This wasn¡¯t something he was prepared for, Addison was on the verge of a breakdown. After standing silent for a brief moment Dante took a deep breath and walked over, standing beside her on the wall in a manner that he hoped was reassuring. ¡°It¡¯s not that bad.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that bad?¡± she laughed dryly. ¡°My father is dead, I have no family, no friends, and now I¡¯m relying on the sister of someone I hate. How is that not bad?¡± That did seem quite bad. ¡°You don¡¯t really hate him.¡± Probably. ¡°And Alissa seems nice, I¡¯m sure that the two of you could be friends.¡± Addison took a deep breath, glaring at him as she did so. ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere near her. She¡¯s the same as Jayden.¡± That was a sentiment he approved of. Dante paused, unsure of what to say. ¡°This city is full of refugees that are in the same situation as you, and all of them seem happy. I would just give it a chance.¡± Not getting a reply, Dante then walked over to Henry, nodding in greeting. ¡°We are going to be staying in Sloria and need accommodations.¡± He was careful to use ¡®we¡¯ so Addison couldn¡¯t outright refuse. Once she calmed down he could worry about getting her settled. After watching everything that had taken place, and discovering that they were friends with the First Lady¡¯s brother, Henry knew what to do. ¡°Certainly,¡± he said, shifting his attention toward Addison. ¡°Please follow me miss.¡± Dante followed Henry, furtively glancing at Addison as they walked. It was hard not to be surprised by how much she had changed. Sure, she had always been something of a pushover. But she never seemed so weak. They were escorted out of the large stone building and led to a mansion-like estate nearby. The estate was gated, with guards patrolling the perimeter. By the looks of things the area was specifically for housing, likely either Alissa¡¯s residence or a space that was set aside specifically for guest. The housing area itself was entirely made from wood, which was an extravagance in Sloria. It wasn¡¯t a really a single large building, but several smaller ones of varying sizes that were jointly connected. Each of which had a courtyard as their main feature. Dante and Addison were both given their own ¡®residences¡¯ within the estate. He didn¡¯t check Addison¡¯s room, but his was fully furnished, which was convenient. After making it there, Dante had no intention of leaving. He did consider looking for Leah and Candice, who he had a decent relationship with, but thought better of it in favor of waiting for Jayden to finish. They needed to talk. Also, he didn¡¯t want to accidentally run into Addison for the moment. So, he made use of his time by crawling into the provided bed. Two days of straight flying was tedious. He also recalled Shade, who he had ordered to hide after the guards apprehended Jayden. After the fox¡¯s stealth ability developed, it was useful, but not in a fight. Well, moderately useful. The ability was similar to Kayla¡¯s. Turning Shade into something that resembled a shadow. Good for hiding at night or in shaded areas but almost useless in broad daylight. Dante awoke to Shade¡¯s mental warning. The fox was now curled up beside him, it¡¯s head perked up and ears straining out. Someone had entered his courtyard, and a quick glance told him it was Jayden. Jayden entered the small room, looking rather perky. It made Dante want to pummel him, especially after what he had been put through earlier. But he thought better of it. From past experience he knew that it wouldn¡¯t change Jayden¡¯s personality. If anything, he would just whine about it for several days. As Jayden entered Dante sat up. ¡°Seriously?¡± ¡°My apologies, dear brother. I didn¡¯t mean to exclude you in the discussion earlier.¡± Deep breaths¡­ ¡°That wasn¡¯t what I was talking about. I meant that you didn¡¯t warn me we were visiting your sister.¡± Jayden waved his hand dismissively. ¡°Had I told you, you wouldn¡¯t have come.¡± After a brief moment of introspection, he realized that Jayden was likely right. At least in the short term. He would have at least finished with Jace first. He was filled with far more trepidation when it came to the First Lady and Sloria in general now. ¡°By the way,¡± Jayden said. ¡°You should watch yourself around Diana. From what I know of her, her skills are a direct counter to yours.¡± Dante¡¯s brows knitted. ¡°Really? In what way?¡± ¡°One of her skills can pull mana out of her surroundings to help form a weapon. It should disrupt your teleportation skill. She has been using it to sweep across the Wastelands for the last year and a half.¡± Jayden didn¡¯t sound too impressed by the skill, but he thought it was pretty interesting. If it disrupted his skill it would disrupt others, which made it an excellent counter to a variety of Classifications. ¡°Is it rare?¡± Jayden shrugged. ¡°Moderately. She is from the noble¡¯s territory and one of the noble Houses there passes down a Sapper Classification that steals mana in a similar way. Though she is from House Ailloss, so I imagine that she inherited the Classification from someone who married in.¡± Dante groaned, slumping back into the bed. ¡°As soon as Victoria gets back, we are leaving.¡± Amazon Release First book is finally on Amazon and set to release friday! I know most of you have already read it, but it is still worth checking out the cover If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Also, if you are interested, everything was gone over by a proofer. So it should be much cleaner than my usual writing. And, if you prefer Audiobooks, that is coming soon (A week, or two weeks? I''ll update this when i have the exact date.) (Smaller side note, physical book isnt available for preorder, but will probably be up around release.) https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B07BZV7MDP Chapter 117 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 117 ¡°Are you familiar with them?¡± Jayden inquired, noting his reaction to Diana being from House Ailloss. ¡°You could say that.¡± Dante¡¯s mind was reeling. Jayden said that Diana had been in the wastelands for a year and a half, which should be right around when he and Edward met. It explained why Edward was so interested in him. He likely needed someone to replace her. Still, Edward sending his daughter to the wastelands to form an army seemed ambitious. Even for a noble. ¡°If you wish to eliminate Diana, we will need to wait until Alissa is finished with her. It would be rather rude to interrupt her plans.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to eliminate her.¡± Dante rubbed his eyes. ¡°And what plans?¡± ¡°She is using Diana to rid herself of those pestering ¡®lords¡¯ that she keeps around. They will be joining Diana on her little escapade.¡± That was an interesting development. Though he didn¡¯t understand why Alissa would do such a thing. ¡°I¡¯m sure that Diana wouldn¡¯t take them if they didn¡¯t have their own combatants, wouldn¡¯t it weaken your sisters position if they left? I can¡¯t imagine that a city with this amount of wealth doesn¡¯t have others eyeing it.¡± ¡°That is true enough,¡± Jayden acknowledged. ¡°But they don¡¯t have nearly as many combatants as they believe they do. I¡¯m sure that you¡¯ve seen the demographic of Sloria. All of those women have already started to find men for themselves. And even if we discount the number of combatants who have found a woman to tie them down, there will be many others who have grown used to a stable life here. I can¡¯t imagine that they would willingly join an army to conquer the noble¡¯s territory.¡± Dante sat up. ¡°Is that why she invited so many women and children to Sloria?¡± ¡°Her intentions are pure, if that is what you¡¯re asking. That doesn¡¯t mean that she wouldn¡¯t take advantage of the situation though.¡± Jayden walked over to Shade with the intention of petting the fox, only stopping when he was hissed at. ¡°It was a great deterrent when the city was under attack.¡± Thinking back to Sloria¡¯s unblemished state when the rest of the valley was almost destroyed, Dante had to agree that the buffer of refugees was effective, if that was the reason they didn¡¯t directly invade the city. Alissa might be just as dangerous as Jayden. With that line of thought, he couldn¡¯t help but remember the way Alissa looked at him when Jayden said he had no use for Diana. Dante¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Why are you so vehement about following me?¡± Jayden noted the severity of the question. He held up his right hand and slid down the glove that was covering it, revealing the symbol of the Goddess, one cooking Classification symbol, and a symbol of several intersecting lines that made up his Strategist Classification. ¡°I am afraid that I am somewhat handicapped.¡± He slid the glove back down. ¡°Which, to be blunt, means that tying myself to others is in my best interest. If you wish to know what I would like to accomplish, I would eventually like to kill my father. But I¡¯m in no rush.¡± Dante slumped back down onto the bed, not bothering to ask Jayden why he wanted to kill his father. Just as he was about to experience his own mental breakdown, Shade perked up. Someone else had entered his courtyard. Dante let out a relieved sigh. Victoria was finally back, and he was ready to leave. More than ready. He looked out of the small room he and Jayden were in, full of expectations. Expectations that were utterly crushed when Dante saw Diana walking over to him. Or at least he was pretty sure it was Diana. He was having a hard time matching the girl in front of him with the one he had met earlier. Diana was no longer covered in leather armor. Instead, she was wearing snug pants that clung to her figure and a loose fitting white shirt. Her ponytail was undone, leaving her thick black hair to fall down to her shoulders in waves. And the smell of blood was entirely gone. Apparently, she had bathed. Dante stood, removing himself from his vulnerable sitting position. Diana walked right into the room, greeting the two of them. Her eyes on him specifically. ¡°Hello,¡± she said as she looked toward Jayden. ¡°Could you please excuse the two of us.¡± Dante also turned his attention to Jayden, motioning with his eyes that Jayden should refuse. Jayden didn¡¯t seem to notice, or just ignored him. ¡°Miss Diana, you look rather fetching.¡± Jayden looked between him and Diana. ¡°I must say, it is hard not to be envious in your presence. I will, begrudgingly, excuse myself.¡± Without another word, Jayden strutted out of the room. Dante took a deep breath. He was going to strangle Jayden. Diana looked around the spacious wooden room with interest, noting the craftsmanship of the maple dressers and the scenic paintings that hung on the walls as decorations. The corners of her mouth curled. ¡°I see that your accommodations are more favorable than mine. That is unsurprising.¡± He should have asked Jayden whether or not he gave Diana his name. He didn¡¯t know how often she contacted her father, news about him might have already reached her. Despite being on edge, he decided to play along. ¡°With the way Jayden treats me, I beg to differ.¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°He is a bit strange, even compared to his sister,¡± Diana admitted. She looked at the bed. ¡°May I sit?¡± Apparently, this was going to be a long conversation. Dante gestured to the bed. ¡°Be my guest.¡± Diana didn¡¯t stand on ceremony. She sat on the bed and crossed her legs in a manner that spoke of sophistication. She even began to pet Shade. And instead of stopping her, Dante ordered Shade to move closer. If push came to shove, the fox could at least be a distraction. ¡°I¡¯m surprised that someone like you would bond with such a cute creature,¡± she said. A smile spreading across her face. This meeting was far more casual than he would have thought, and he now looked silly standing on guard while she was sitting on the bed petting his pet fox. Dante leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms. ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± Diana looked up from Shade. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean anything by it. Your fox just seems like a creature that women and young girls would adore, and you don¡¯t seem like the type to chose based on that. Though, I suppose it¡¯s fitting that you have an umbra fox, given that you are an assassin.¡± Dante stared at Diana, unsure of what she was doing. She wouldn¡¯t have come to see him without reason. He just wished she would get it over with and leave. Diana continued, ¡°We weren¡¯t properly introduced earlier, and I was unable to get your name.¡± Well, that was something. ¡°Jack.¡± ¡°It is a pleasure to meet you. I am sure you¡¯re wondering why I am here.¡± ¡°Not really, you want Jayden.¡± Dante said, easing himself off the wall in preparation. ¡°I am wondering what lengths you are willing to go to in order to acquire him though.¡± Diana¡¯s hand paused on Shade mid-stroke as one of her brows arched. ¡°You think I want to kill you?¡± ¡°I think it is a possibility.¡± Diana resumed stroking Shade, turning smug. ¡°Am I that scary?¡± She was acting as though he was the one being unreasonable when she smelt like blood only hours ago. ¡°How else would you get Jayden?¡± ¡°Not by killing you,¡± she said. ¡°Not only is there a possibility of Jayden and Alissa turning against me if I did, but I also have no intention of tangling with the assassin¡¯s guild. I am actually acquainted with the branch located in the noble¡¯s territory and wouldn¡¯t want to tarnish the relationship I have with them. Besides, you and I aren¡¯t enemies. Even if you are a large inconvenience at the moment.¡± Looking at it from Diana¡¯s point of view, killing him would be foolish. Dante once again relaxed against the wall. ¡°Then why did you come here?¡± ¡°Because I need Jayden. Or Alissa, for that matter. You may not be aware of the matters in the noble¡¯s territory, but one of the Houses has a commander that is almost on par with a Strategist. Without a Strategist of my own, even attempting to uproot his House would be foolish.¡± ¡°Some people might think that conquering the noble¡¯s territory at all is foolish,¡± he countered. Diana¡¯s shoulders lifted into a shrug. ¡°I probably wouldn¡¯t argue with them. But I have no intention of staying in the wastelands for the rest of my life, and returning to the noble¡¯s territory is equally impossible in my current situation. ¡°Which is why I need Jayden. I don¡¯t understand why you don¡¯t want him to help me, I¡¯ll make sure to keep him out of harm¡¯s way and return him to you as soon as possible.¡± The way she was talking about Jayden was comical. It almost sounded like he was merchandise to be exchanged. ¡°I think you misunderstand. If Jayden wants to go with you he is welcome to. But I have no intention of joining in on the fun myself.¡± ¡°Yes, but for some reason he won¡¯t go without you.¡± Diana paused. ¡°If it¡¯s a matter of pay, I am more than willing to negotiate. Even giving you a piece of land in the Outer region of the noble¡¯s territory isn¡¯t out of the question.¡± That was actually tempting. He would be going back to the noble¡¯s territory soon anyways. All he would need to do is drop Jayden off with Diana and most of his problems would be solved. And what¡¯s more, he would get paid for it as well. But he did have a few questions. ¡°Why would House Ailloss want to conquer the noble¡¯s territory?¡± Diana¡¯s head cocked to the side. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t an assassin be jumping at an opportunity to accumulate so much wealth?¡± ¡°Being an assassin wasn¡¯t exactly my first choice in profession,¡± Dante looked toward the courtyard, as if Victoria would choose that moment to appear. ¡°And you didn¡¯t answer my question.¡± ¡°Fair enough,¡± Diana admitted. ¡°I left because I was being forced into a marriage I wanted no part in. Once I march an army over the border, I¡¯ll force my father to surrender and absorb his combatants. Once he signs a mana contract saying that he won¡¯t force me into a marriage, my problems will be over. ¡°That is where I would stop, had I not created an army full of Warlords. But since I did, I¡¯ll expend them on my family¡¯s enemies to weaken their mercenaries while also keeping them busy enough to delay any mutiny. After that, I¡¯ll just need to bother myself with the cleanup.¡± ¡°I¡¯m guessing that you also promised those Warlords land?¡± ¡°I did,¡± Diana¡¯s mouth formed into a sly smile. ¡°But it¡¯s worth pointing out that they will turn against me at the first opportunity. I don¡¯t think I will have that problem with you.¡± Dante rubbed his eyes for what seemed like the fifth time that day. Diana was actually starting to sound reasonable. Being tied down to a noble with marriage sounded like a nightmare to him, so he could empathize with her. Though, building an army to force her father into surrendering was a bit much in his opinion. ¡°When do you need him and for how long?¡± ¡°It will take me around two months to amass my army and breach the border wall, and an additional two to march them to Devil¡¯s Edge where the battle is taking place. So, four months,¡± Diana said. ¡°As for how long the fighting will last¡­ maybe another month? Possibly two, I¡¯m not really sure. The location of the battle is a bit troublesome and suited for drawn out fights. Fortunately, I won¡¯t be worried about losses.¡± Unleashing Jayden without worrying about the losses on either side¡­ That sounded like a calamity. Dante pondered over the timeframe and what results that Diana¡¯s plan would bring. From his perspective, helping her was too convenient to pass up. And while Jayden was dealing with House Calman on the frontlines, he could take advantage of their weakened position to handle his own business. ¡°And for payment?¡± ¡°I already offered land. I can give you enough territory to establish a powerful House.¡± ¡°Not interested,¡± he brushed what she said aside. ¡°Monster and essence crystals interest me though.¡± Even after completing the dungeon he was fighting Jace over, he would need an additional four monster crystals. Diana contemplated it. ¡°I¡¯ll offer you the same as Jayden. Five high-quality dungeons. And you can keep the essence crystals from the monsters.¡± He was getting scammed. Going from being offered actual land to only five monster crystals was horrendous. But since he didn¡¯t want to interact with Diana again in the future, he decided that the small deal would leave little room for any future dealings with her. Just a single one-time transaction, then they could go their own ways. ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Excellent!¡± Diana lifted Shade off of her lap and placed the fox on the bed. Then she stood and dusted any lingering hairs from the fox off of her pants, smiling triumphantly. ¡°Was there really any need to play hard to get?¡± Dante rolled his eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll deliver Jayden to the noble¡¯s territory sometime in the next for months.¡± He already knew Jayden wouldn¡¯t have a problem with it. He was practically jumping at Diana¡¯s offer earlier. Diana nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll see you then.¡± Diana walked out of the wooden room and Dante slumped back down onto the bed. Chapter 118 Dante¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 118 ¡°What happened to you?¡± Dante groaned, opened his eyes, and saw Victoria standing above where he was slumped over on the bed. Her voice had a touch of both resentment and amusement, which was a strange combination, and she looked rough. Almost unrecognizable. Dirt covered every inch of her body and face, and more than one area was splotched with dried mud. Had he not heard her voice, he wouldn¡¯t have believed it was even her. ¡°I could ask the same,¡± he said, sitting up. ¡°Where did you go?¡± ¡°Shadow thought he saw a miyue serpent.¡± Victoria plopped down on his bed with her arms crossed, soiling it with the dirt that covered her. ¡°He did.¡± Dante jumped up, yanked the fur blankets out from under her, which were his own, and began swatting off the dirt. ¡°Was that really necessary?¡± He glared at her. ¡°These were expensive. And what is a miyue serpent? I¡¯ve never heard of it.¡± That he hadn¡¯t heard of the serpent wasn¡¯t surprising. All of his knowledge about creatures was from the information in the books he collected. And based on the inconsistencies in the different copies he had, he knew his knowledge was limited to say the least. Victoria didn¡¯t seem bothered by the fact that she had just ruined his blankets. In fact, she seemed satisfied by her actions. Like she was happy to share some of the frustration that she was feeling with him. ¡°Miyue serpents are vile, evil, malicious, conniving, cruel, elusive, spiteful-¡± ¡°Okay, I got it,¡± Dante cut off her rant as he stored his fur blankets. ¡°I assume that it is a snake-type creature. Why would you go out of your way to catch it?¡± Victoria didn¡¯t seem pleased by the interruption, but her mood was slowly returning to it¡¯s normal, aloof state. ¡°I didn¡¯t catch it, I killed it.¡± she let out a sigh. ¡°Unfortunately, the serpent was female and had already laid its eggs, so its venom had already lost its potency.¡± ¡°What type of venom does the miyue serpent have?¡± It losing its potency after the snake gave birth was already indication enough that it is unique. ¡°Its effects are similar to a Forsaker Classification¡¯s. The venom is harmless on its own, but when infused by world essence it has a corrupting effect. If injected into humans, it will halt all world essence control and mana regeneration from anywhere between several hours to several days depending on the amount of venom injected.¡± That gave him pause. ¡°Did you at least find its eggs?¡± ¡°I did, but I must have interrupted its breeding. There were only four when they usually lay dozens over the course of a few months. And given the miyue serpent¡¯s high infant mortality rate, it is unlikely that any of them will survive their incubation period.¡± ¡°If the female was in the midst of breeding, surely there must be a male somewhere close by that we could acquire.¡± Victoria looked at him incredulously, then pointedly looked down at her dirt covered appearance before looking back up at him again. ¡°It was very challenging for me to locate this miyue serpent after Shadow tracked it. If you would like to go find the male, solely based on that premise, be my guest.¡±This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°I was just thinking aloud,¡± Dante brushed the matter aside. He still couldn¡¯t get over the fact that Victoria had to expend so much effort to locate a single snake. That pretty much meant that it would have been an impossibility for him to capture. It was nice to see Victoria after the day he had been having. ¡°By the way, Diana Ailloss is here.¡± Victoria¡¯s demeanor underwent an immediate change as her eyes snapped on to him. ¡°She is?¡± She examined him, finding something amiss. ¡°I take it that you have yet to meet?¡± ¡°Actually,¡± he said. ¡°We¡¯ve already met twice, the second time was less than an hour ago. She wants Jayden¡¯s help to invade the noble¡¯s territory.¡± Victoria looked surprised. ¡°You didn¡¯t tell her your name, did you?¡± ¡°No, I told her my name was Jack.¡± A smile spread across Victoria¡¯s face. Any of her earlier frustration from hunting the miyue serpent completely disappeared. That smile, in addition to the context of their conversation, filled him with unease. ¡°I know that there are people in the noble¡¯s territory who are looking for me, but from what Diana said, she shouldn¡¯t be involved with any of them.¡± Of course, there was the possibility that Diana had lied to him earlier. In which case, he would be more than happy for Victoria to tell him the truth before finding out on his own. Victoria¡¯s arms remained crossed, but there was a subtle smugness to her posture now. ¡°I heard that she ran away from her father because he arranged a marriage for her.¡± Dante nodded, that was what Diana had told him. ¡°Edward Ailloss kept everything about the marriage hidden, but it would be impossible for rumors to be suppressed,¡± Victoria continued. ¡°Apparently, Edward was trying to set her up with someone from the Outer Edge region.¡± Dante¡¯s mind blanked. He was still looking at Victoria, but his eyes were no longer in focus. ¡°Those are just rumors though, right?¡± There was almost zero chance that Victoria was talking about him. But ¡®almost zero chance¡¯ wasn¡¯t nearly small enough. ¡°Nope,¡± Victoria crushed any of his delusions. ¡°A friend of mine is a part of House Ailloss. I can say with absolute certainty that it is you.¡± He didn¡¯t know how to process the information that Victoria gave him. The first thought that he had was that Edward was crazy. Wanting to marry off someone he had just met to his own daughter. Then he was struck by the thought that Edward might actually not be that bad. Sure, he was a bit absurd, but it would be a stretch to say that his intentions were nefarious. Well, that might have been true if Diana wasn¡¯t the person he was supposed to marry. He wasn¡¯t sure about how he felt about that. It made it seem like Edward was unloading her off to him more than anything. She was willing to raise an army against her father, the Goddess only knows what she would be like as a wife. Dante thanked the Goddess for his change in appearance for the first time. ¡°I¡¯m Jack now, call me Jack.¡± ¡°Very funny,¡± Victoria said. ¡°Jokes aside, you need to keep an eye on Diana. If the two of you got into a fight, you might not win. Her skills will completely block yours.¡± She thought he was joking? Dante¡¯s eyebrows lowered. ¡°Why, exactly, haven¡¯t you told me this before?¡± Victoria¡¯s shoulders lifted into a shrug. ¡°I didn¡¯t think it was that important.¡± ¡°How is this not pertinent information?¡± ¡°Helena, Edwards wife, makes all of the final calls.¡± Victoria said. ¡°Even if Edward wanted to marry Diana off, nothing would come of it without her approval.¡± He rubbed his eyes. ¡°If Helena was going to stop Edward, why would Diana run off and form an army.¡± Victoria was still smiling, her smugness was irritating. ¡°Helena and I happen to be good friends. I just need to mention it and she will intervene on your behalf.¡± Dante¡¯s mouth opened but no words came out. He didn¡¯t believe that something so important could be resolved so easily. Even more so, he couldn¡¯t believe that Victoria had friends, much less good ones. Sure, she had Melisandre, but from what he could see their relationship formed because they were both a part of the assassin¡¯s guild. In his mind, it was inconceivable that she would go out of her way to socialize with others who she had no dealings with otherwise. Dante slumped back down on the bed, placing himself next to Victoria. ¡°Can we please leave?¡± ¡°Not yet,¡± Victoria looked down at her dirt covered body. ¡°I need to bathe. And I¡¯ll also need to try and get an incubator made for the remaining eggs. I doubt any of them will hatch, but we might as well try anyways.¡± Chapter 119 Jack¡¯s Immortality ¨C Chapter 119 After waiting for Victoria to clean herself and have an incubator made, Dante gathered Jayden, said goodbye to Addison, and promptly left Sloria.
The flight to Dead Man¡¯s Range took several uneventful days, but that made them quite pleasant in his opinion. Upon arrival, Victoria led their raptors down to the same area they had camped out the last time, placing them in a clearing just outside the mountain range. After dismounting, the first thing Dante did was watch the forest. Which was where the other assassins would be arriving from. His fight with Jace was still scheduled several days away, but he doubted that small fact would keep them away until then, and he also doubted that an assassin would be unwilling to resort to foul play if they perceived him to be an actual threat. Victoria dismounted her raptor, pulling down the incubator with her. The incubator was a small box that was two feet long on each side, made from various undiscernible lightweight metals and covered in an enchantment. The enchantment was tier one, and made from Chaos stone that drew in its own world essence for self-sufficiency. From the small amount of time that he interacted with the incubator on the flight over, he knew it provided a small amount of heat to the eggs in the box. Victoria handed the box to Jayden, who then opened the metal lid to look at the eggs, a smile on his face. ¡°Miss Victoria, you must be more careful. They are so delicate.¡± Victoria crossed her arms at the warning, but Dante agreed with Jayden¡¯s sentiment. Victoria appeared to be in a conundrum in regards to the eggs. It was like she hated them, treating the box with disregard, while she also cherished them, taking care to make sure that they didn¡¯t break. The mixed behavior spoke for her feelings on miyue serpents. Victoria ignored Jayden and looked at him. ¡°Do you want to go to them, or wait for them to come to us? I doubt it will take Daxez long to make his way here.¡± Dante shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t really care.¡± If they went to Daxez, who was Jace¡¯s master, it could be interpreted as them taking the initiative in an overbearing way, placing them in the dominant position. On the other hand, it could also be interpreted as them rushing over to report that they had arrived like subordinates, which would place Daxez in the dominant position. And the same was true if they waited until Daxez came to them. It could either place Daxez in the dominant or supportive role. But no matter what, Daxez would have the advantage in either situation because the other assassins he brought would support him unconditionally. So, what they chose to do didn¡¯t really matter. And he didn¡¯t feel like wasting a trip. Victoria nodded in agreement. ¡°Neither do I. When they do come, make sure to piss Daxez off. I need him to attack you after you kill Jace.¡± Acting as bait sounded unpleasant, but he had already known that this was a part of Victoria¡¯s plan. It turned out that they didn¡¯t need to wait long. Only a few minutes after landing Daxez himself strode out of the forest, taking each step like a king who was parading in his kingdom. He was, for the most part, unchanged from the last time Dante saw him. Still dressed like a fine merchant in his silk clothing, which, in Dante¡¯s opinion, conflicted with the role of assassin. Though the appearance did make more sense after Melisandre told him that the assassins in the wastelands were just glorified mercenaries. Behind Daxez were other assassins, more of them than last time. There were around twenty, each striding out behind him like loyal subjects. Each with their own characteristics, as none were dressed alike, and each carried their own mannerisms that were different from the other. Some looked like farmers, some like merchants, a few like nobles, and one or two even looked like actual assassins. If he had run into such a group anywhere else, he wouldn¡¯t have believed that they were a part of the same faction. There were also a few younger apprentices streaming out of the forest, and more than one was a familiar face. Jace was there, next to Daxez with his stone-cold expression. Carter was also there, he was the one who had fought him over Shade. There were also others he recognized but didn¡¯t remember the names of, including the teen who threatened him over Olivia, and several others that were walking alongside their masters. The one who held his attention was Hannah though. From a glance, she was identical to Olivia, her sister. Only different in her mannerism. There was none of the coyness, none of the warmth in her personality. If anything, Hannah was cold, and in his opinion that didn¡¯t match her appearance at all.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. He looked at Victoria. ¡°Have they all stayed here for the past year?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± she said. ¡°A year isn¡¯t really a long period of time though. Getting one of your Classifications to specialize the first four times will add roughly ten years to your life per specialization.¡± He was already aware of that, but the specificity of what she said was strange. ¡°What about the fifth specialization and up?¡± ¡°Those are fundamentally different,¡± she said. ¡°We¡¯ll talk about them later.¡± Dante refocused his attention on the assassins that were making their way toward them, somewhat disgruntled. He was ready to get this fight over with as soon as possible. That way Victoria would stop holding back so much information. ¡°Jayden.¡± After getting Jayden¡¯s attention he motioned to Daxez. ¡°I need you to piss him off, make him angry enough to attack me.¡± Jayden looked up at the designated target, seemed to approve, then walked over to raptors to hide the incubator he was holding in a safe location. If Jayden couldn¡¯t provoke him, it was a lost cause. The assassins closed in, surrounding them in a half circle. From their posture and the way that a few of them grabbed at the handles of their weapons, it was obvious that they were trying to be threatening. ¡°Welcome back guild master,¡± Daxez mocked. ¡°I was wondering when the two of you would show up.¡± His eyes lazily roamed over the three of them, widening slightly when they saw Dante¡¯s altered appearance, then resting on Jayden the longest, examining the potential threat. ¡°If you think that you can just find a replacement to fight for you, think again.¡± Daxez looked at Dante. ¡°I assume he is the same apprentice that was with you last time, correct?¡± Victoria already had her arms crossed, her expression placid. ¡°He isn¡¯t a replacement, and yes, that is the same apprentice.¡± ¡°Dear brother, is this the pompous imbecile that you spoke of?¡± Jayden asked him a conversational tone, ignoring the presence of those who were surrounding them. Dante nodded as the others watched on, dumbfounded by how brazen Jayden was. ¡°Ah, I see.¡± Jayden rubbed his chin as he looked Daxez up and down. ¡°I think you may have been a bit harsh in your wording, though I do admit that he is a bit pudgy, as you said.¡± He wouldn¡¯t have thought that such a simple insult would have any effect, but it did. Daxez took a furtive glance down at himself, as if wondering whether or not his expensive clothing was still obscuring his figure. When Daxez looked back up his eyes were bouncing between him and Jayden. ¡°Who is this?¡± ¡°My second apprentice,¡± Victoria said. ¡°My apologies. He is a bit slow and has a tendency to speak his mind.¡± ¡°A year of stuffing your face with bread and using your stomach as a wineskin will do that to you, Dax. No need to get upset about it,¡± one of the assassins added. He was a plain man, one who could be mistaken as a poor shopkeeper. Apparently, he and Daxez didn¡¯t get along. Which was made obvious by his relaxed posture, it was as though he didn¡¯t care what came of this event. While most of the other assassins were stone-faced, several were restraining smiles. The apprentices lacked that restraint. Daxez took a calming breath, only becoming more irritated. In contrast Jace didn¡¯t seem to care. He looked as disinterested as the plain assassin that spoke up, like this entire matter didn¡¯t involve him at all, even though he was the centerpiece. ¡°Good sir, I do apologize,¡± Jayden said. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean for my observations to offend you.¡± Daxez ignored Jayden. ¡°Your apprentice is slandering me without basis,¡± he said to Victoria, red-faced. ¡°Is this how guild members in your branch conduct themselves?¡± Victoria¡¯s head cocked to the side. ¡°Without basis?¡± She seemed to ponder her own words, confused. Then she shrugged and looked at Jayden. ¡°Explain yourself to the vice guild master.¡± ¡°Explain myself?¡± Jayden looked at Daxez, eyebrows drawing together as he examined him. Then he looked at the other assassins, as though he didn¡¯t understand why he must explain the obvious. Then he looked back at Daxez. ¡°I can explain it to you, but I can¡¯t understand it for you. You, sir, are overweight. And the girdle around your waist makes that quite obvious.¡± Everyone looked at Daxez, eyes drawn to his waist and gut. All of them seeing the faint outline that had been carefully hidden by the lines in his clothing. The plain looking assassin who had spoken earlier broke out into laughter, destroying the silence that Jayden had created. The others were surprised, some shocked. Not that Daxez was wearing a girdle, though that was surprising to them, but that Jayden would be so daring as to point it out. Daxez went bright red. He looked like someone who was on the verge of an explosion. Then he stopped. He stood straighter, his complexion evening out, face no longer burning with rage as his eyes turned cold. ¡°Good. Very good. I will remember this.¡± His knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists. ¡°The fight is scheduled to take place in five days. That is when I will return.¡± Daxez spun, striding off toward the forest with his contingent of assassins. The only one who stayed was Jace. He was still stone-faced, but the stare he gave Dante was full of ill intent. Then he too walked toward the forest. If he didn¡¯t care about their fight before, he did now that his master was embarrassed. Of the leaving assassins, there was one outlier. The assassin who laughed openly at Daxez. He was ambling along behind the rest, giggling to himself as he muttered parts of the earlier conversation. Dante gave Jayden an approving nod. ¡°Well done, I didn¡¯t even notice the girdle.¡± Jayden began to walk back to the raptor, likely going to get the eggs that he cherished so much after finding out that they belonged to a miyue serpent. ¡°Dear brother, you must pay closer attention. It is the things that people try to hide that they are the most self-conscious about.¡± That was true enough. Dante took a questioning glance at Victoria, who seemed pleased. ¡°Was that good enough?¡± Victoria nodded. ¡°It was perfect. You¡¯ll still need to put on a show during your fight, but I think that it won¡¯t take much to get him to act.¡± Pleased, Dante pulled up his status. He had the world essence needed to specialize, and now that he and Victoria had the time, he needed to get it out of the way so that he could familiarize himself with the skill he chose before the fight. Short break Writers block, yay. Going to take like a month off to recharge (ill be back, dont worry lol) I need to get a certain character count to post a chapter, so i guess ill get a bit detailed. Basically, i think what has me all blocked up in regards to the story is what ive already written, and not so much what i am about to write. By that i mean the last 60ish chapters. I feel like they are bad, real bad. There is nothing really driving the story, and although i am preparing to fix that now, there is a 100k+ word deadzone there. I have a few ideas to resolve this. All of them are going to take a decent amount of rewriting as well as some minor plot tweaking to make it a more enjoyable story. Like jace, for instance, doesnt really matter. He is an arranged fight, not really someone Dante wants to defeat, nor is there enough buildup to make the fight really interesting. Then there are some moments with melisandre, olivia, the city Sloria, and the whole mercenary fighting thing that need to be revised, skimmed, or just changed. Basically, i think it would be healthy to cut down the word count of the last 60 chapters by like 50%... which would be easier said than done.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Dont worry though, im going to take a minute to sit back, think about what i want to adjust, probably practice my writing on useless things, then come back and start plugging away at new chapters again. And of course, if you guys have any input you want to share on this, please comment. (And i also understand if some people dont want to read a story that keeps being changed/edited as it is being written :/ sorry about that) Update/Future plans Sorry for disapearing without notice. Its not something i have an excuse for. I''ve just been avoiding RRL at all costs, for reasons i dont want to get into in this post. That said, I owe everyone who is still interested in this story an update.
When i took my break a few months ago, i did so with the intention of taking a small break to edit what i had out on this site into something more concise and less drawn out. While doing so, i realized that there were several problems with the second part of the story - and on a fundamental level that an ''edit'' wouldnt fix. It was... frustrating to say the least, and i didnt have any desire to put any more of my time into something that would never be good, or even decent. So, I eventually made up my mind to completely start the second part of the story over, off of RRL. (everything after Dante enters the wastelands.) I know that is going to upset a lot of people who have already read past that, but - at least in my opinion - the story is currently in a far better state than it was before.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. As far as future plans are concerned, I am planning on releasing the entirety of the second part on RRL in a few months. The exact amount of time will depend on what level of editing i decide to do prior to releasing it, but it should be early 2019. (before, i would post a chapter and a reader would point out any incosistencies/errors within the first few minutes of it being out, making it easy for me to correct mistakes as i wrote them. Since im not posting the chapters one at a time that level of editing is no longer occuring, so im probably going to enlist the help of a few beta readers to help me find the errors/mistakes before releasing anything.) I appologize for lack of communication, i hope you guys can at least see where i am coming from. (I''m not sure if i''ll be reading comments on this post... Im going back to avoiding RRL like the plague after this.) ?_?