ã€ŠDeath Markã€‹


 Ch. 1: The rise of the dead

    "Has it ended?"

    Dante always thought of war as an opportunity where heroes would rise to glory while evil would succumb to his awesomeness.

    But reality proved him wrong.

    Here he was, faking death on the battlefield, hoping to save his little life from the enemy mages¡¯ merciless shelling.

    It wasn''t Dante¡¯s first time on a battlefield, but this was simply too much for someone like him. They were but sitting ducks, and without cover, you could easily picture what awaited any daring fool stepping into the opponent¡¯s range.

    The battlefield was now enveloped in a deathly silence.

    After hearing no more sounds of weapons clashing or any footsteps, Dante thought that it was safe for him to stand up and run for his life. He didn¡¯t want to die from

    "I swear I''m never setting foot on a battlefield for my entire life, could the heavens damn me if I don''t settle myself and marry a good wife after this close call."

    Murmuring to himself, Dante stood up, while shifting to the side the corpse of an enemy he had used as a cover.

    Wary of his surroundings he began to look around.

    "This is hell."

    A sea of corpes greeted him, while lying on the ground he almost threw up because of the smell of death and blood that permeated the battlefield.

    But now he knew the reason behind such a large scale massacre.

    "It should be the work of a Necromancer, but on a battlefield of this scale someone of his status shouldn''t have appeared."

    This smell of rot and decay wasn''t something which could from in an hour.

    It was a signature of the Necromancer''s work.

    Even if the enmity between the Lytal Republic and the Lank Kingdom ran deep, it wasn''t worth it to displace a Necromancer to this battlefield only to massacre everyone.

    "It doesn''t make sense... Nevermind I shouldn''t think too much about, my first priority now is to report the result of the battle to the higher ups. If I were to do that, it will surely be considered as a great contribution to the Republic!"

    Hahahaha, if I''m lucky i''ll be even rewarded with a noble title and some land and my name will be famous throughout the nation, bards will sing the tales of the One who survived the massacre!"

    With that in mind Dante began running back to the nearest fortress. Even if the fortress was 40 kilometres from where he was, thanks to his Soldier level power he could still return in less than an hour.

    "Let''s go, an easy life of pleasure and calm attends me."

    Even if he said that with a smile, there was a tinge of regret in it.

    Since his childhood, he had always dreamt of becoming one of those great figures who could decide the life and death of many with but a thought and live as carefree and happy as he could.

    Now that he knew his place, he understood that he would never be among those powerful people.

    "I''m just a coward who can''t even kill the enemies of his country, what a trash. Even if I cultivated all my life I wouldn''t even hold a candle to those great Commander level figures with great background.

    The heavens have really fated me to remain ordinary."

    While running, Dante was deep in thought about his waste of a life and his regrets.

    He didn''t sense a killing intent coming from one of the corpses he ran by.

    No, he didn''t run by it. He stepped on it with his full weight added with his Soldier level strenght, breaking one of the "corpse''s" arms. The "corpse" didn''t even flinch, but a muffled sound could be heard.

    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.For a brief second it glared with eyes full of killing intent, before resolution replaced it.

    But Dante didn''t sense it, he was too absorbed in his thoughts to sense it.

    Half an hour passed, Dante had already entered the forest which surrounded the fortress.

    He didn''t feel a shadow tailing him from behind.

    "That fucking Necromancer, he killed everyone without even caring for his allies.

    If I survive this, I will do all I can to kill him.

    All the brothers of my troop died because of that bastard!"

    Peter was at the Lieutenant level and had already gone through thick and thin with his comrades, coming to treat each other as brothers.

    He deeply cared about them so the enmity sown by their death was something that could only end with his death or that of the Necromancer.

    "After killing the shithead who broke my arm, I will dedicate all my efforts to vengeance!"

    It couldn''t be blamed on Peter, due to his careful nature he didn''t dare move a muscle as he feared that the Necromancer could detect him.

    Just restoring his crippled arm to its original state would take him at least a medium grade healing potion, which costs 200 gold coins.

    Even for him, a Lieutenant level, that wasn''t something he could buy without flinching.

    If he didn''t kill the bastard who broke his arm, Peter wouldn''t be able to sleep well.

    "Now it''s time to end this chase."

    "What the fuck!?"

    Dante almost shitted himself that moment, a powerful aura spread and covered a radius of 300 meteres.

    A bulky human whith blonde hair and white skin appeared 20 meters away from him.

    He radiated an aura of power which made him shudder for a moment, but he managed to steady himself and get into a combat stance.

    Observing his enemy he noticed that the human''s left arm was dangling by the side, most likely it was crippled, while in his right hand he had a sword which carried a graceful and light weight to it.

    "Time to meet your maker demon!"

    Dante knew it, his enemy was a Lieutenant level Human, he couldn''t outrun him even if he fled to the fortress at his maximum speed.

    But he had a chance, with that left arm crippled, the danger the human posed to him was basically halved.

    Now it was time to grab that chance!

    All of this took a while to describe but it actually happened in less than a second.

    Kicking the ground with all his might Dante managed to cross the 20 meters in less than two seconds, surprising his enemy.

    "Hahaha, I''m too clever, the human thought that I would flee the moment I sensed his Lieutenant level aura, he didn''t expect me to attack immediatly!"

    Aware of the danger posed by the human, Dante chose to attack the already crippled left arm of the Human and completely chop it off of him, weakening the Human even further.

    Raising his sword in a chopping motion, Dante lowered the blade on the Human''s left arm while using his shield to defend against the sword in the Human''s right arm.

    But in that moment a glowing dagger appeared in the Human''s left hand.

    "FUUUUUCK!!"

    Dante would have never expect that the left arm which he thought was crippled, was in fact the Human''s true unharmed arm.

    "Hahahaha, this Demon is so simple-minded, taking the bait rightaway without any precautions."

    Using the concealed dagger he had in his left arm''s sleeve, Peter attacked the foolish demon without holding back.

    "Shit, is this the end? I can''t die like this!"

    In that life and death moment, the only Orb which Dante had on his body lit up.

 Ch. 2: The Death Mark

    Because he wore an armour Dante couldn''t see it, but around his Orb a flaming skull took shape.

    The skull was purple in color and had some hints of gold in the flames, it gave off an eerie feeling.

    The skull was laughing at the world.

    Just when he was about to cut Dante''s throat with his dagger, Peter froze.

    That wasn''t because he had a sudden Vietnam war flashback nor did he stop because someone tried to reincarnate and take over his body.

    He froze because of reverence.

    Reverence which stemmed from his very soul and blood, it was something that trascended race, social status, good, evil, life and death.

    An Absolute Will which disregarded the Heavens themselves appeared before him, as if to tell them that he had returned and will beat them for good.

    Peter obviously couldn''t grasp the entirety of this will, and that was good for he would have exploded due to the difference in power.

    Thunder rumbled in the sky.

    Just as it appeared the tremendous presence disappeared, as if it never existed in the first place.

    Dante thought that he was at the end of the rope and had even closed his eyes, submitting to his fate.

    But after waiting for a couple of seconds he still didn''t feel a cold blade slash his throat.

    Opening his left eye he saw the Human.

    Just a second ago they were at each other''s throats, but to Dante''s own bewilderment he saw the Human kowtowing in his direction.

    Dante was first shocked by the strange course of action taken by the Human but after the initial shock he glared at the Human with thick killing intent.

    However just when he was about to move.

    "Stay your hand Great Demon, my name is Peter.

    It was my foolishness just now attacking your great self, I didn''t know that your master was such a supreme expert. Please, forgive my foolish behaviour and let''s turn over a new leaf."

    Peter paused for a moment before saying.

    "I''m not like those fools which preach about killing only because of race or religion, I know my limits and don''t want to sow any enmity between us.

    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.I only kill for benefit or if you have offended me or those which I care about.

    I''m grateful because you gave me the opportunity to experience such an aura, it really broadened my horizons...

    If you ever visit one of the Human states, use one of these cards and you will be able to find hospitality in any of the branches of the Kemil Clan."

    After finishing his speech, Peter sent floating a metallic card in the hands of Dante, on it was written ''Kemil''. As if suddenly remembering something, Peter said.

    "This little one would be honored to know the name of your noble self, milord!"

    Dante was stunned by the Human''s change.

    What the fuck, we were fighting to the death a moment ago, isn''t this too sudden?

    Don''t you have any shame?

    I almost lost my little life just now!

    And what about all that crap you just spewed, do you have brain damage?

    Despite the initial shock, Dante was quick to recover his composure.

    Much to his luck, Peter had his head lowered through the whole speech so he didn''t see his change of expressions.

    "The name of this Lord is Dante, I forgive you for your foolishness just this once. Tell me why did you try to kill me just now, if it wasn''t because of racism or religion?"

    "Actually, Your Majesty, the reason behind all of this is due to my great luck. While Your Majesty was running on the battlefield before, it happened that one of Your gracious steps landed on my wretched right arm, crippling it in the process.

    Blinded by fury, I sought vengeance without knowing the depth of your Esteemed Self."

    "Mmm, it was actually like this. I feel sorry for your loss, can I be of any help?"

    "No, no, Your Majesty has already shown me great kindness by forgiving me just now.

    I can''t take advantage of Your Majesty''s grace.

    Now with Your Majesty''s consent, I have to return to my camp and settle my wound after reporting.

    No, I won''t say anything about our encounter."

    "Then farewell Peter, let''s cross each other''s paths again in the future!"

    "Sure,Your Majesty!"

    And with that they parted ways.

    No one would have expected that the tiny ripples which formed today would one day become a tidal wave.

 Ch. 3: The Stranger

    "I''m saved, I thought he would kill me but in the end I survived!

    Now it''s time to return to the city and make some preparations, there''s something fishy about the appearence of that Necromancer and the massacre which that bastard did.

    If I were to go back to the commander and report, it''s highly probable they would silence me."

    Peter knew his worth, even if he was a Lieutenant level, offending a Necromancer wasn''t something he could afford with his current standing.

    It has to be mentioned that every Necromancer had to be at least at the commander level so they weren''t existences he could compare to, at the moment.

    "Hahahaha, you won''t have to wait too long my dear brothers.

    I will soon sate your thirst of blood...

    Thanks to my clan''s relic, it''s only a question of time for me to attain Commander level power."

    The jade pendant on Peter''s neck briefly flashed with a green light as if sensing the ambition and thirst of blood of his owner.

    ...

    ...

    "What a strange fellow... Well at least he gave me this card so I shouldn''t treat him as an enemy the next time I meet him, if there will be a next time."

    Giving someone an hospitality card was a common sign of benevolence in theFiveContinents.

    "I still don''t understand what made him change his attitude so fast, I don''t have a powerful master...

    He talked about some powerful presence or aura but I didn''t feel anything of the sort."

    Dante tried to understand the reason behind Peter sudden change, but no matter how he racked his mind he still didn''t find any clues.

    "Nevermind, what''s important is that I survived. I can think about this things later, maybe with a cup of tea or something.

    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.Now I need to return to the fortress."

    But just when he was about to resume his journey, he heard a voice.

    "Stop kid, you are just getting yourself killed if you return to the fortress now.

    If you leave this forest and find shelter far away from here, maybe you will be able to survive."

    The voice wasn''t aged or anything but it was domineering enough to make anyone think twice before doing anything.

    Dante felt intimidated by it, so he tried to be polite to this stranger.

    "Who are you Sir? Can you show yourself to this little one?"

    He tried to be as polite as possible because he didn''t want anymore problems for that day.

    "Hehehe, at the very least your manners are good. I was really troubled just now as I couldn''t wrap my head around the fact that a fool like you could survive until today.

    But now I know, even if you are not the sharpest tool in the shed, at least you know your place."

    Dante was really angered by this statement, but in the end he managed to calm himself.

    "I appreciate your compliment Sir, but can you show yourself now?"

    Even if he managed to control himself Dante was still burning of anger within, and he really wanted to know who dared to be this audacious with a Dungeon''s soldier.

    "Kid you have to look no further than at yourself to see me."

    "What!?"

    "Look at your Orb..."

    Dante was stupefied, how could his Orb be related to the voice he was hearing?

    Taking off his armor he looked at his Orb, only to be stunned once again.

    The Orb that had been the source of his frustrations for the last year had changed, the once unremarkable Orb was now in one of the orbits of an eerie flaming purple skull.

    Looking at the blazing flames Dante almost felt his eyes burning, so he retracted his gaze from them.

    It was too strange, he had never heard of anything like that happening to other demons.

    And then it happened.

    The moment his gaze met that of the one eyed Skull, he was taken into the Orb.

 Ch. 4: The Orb

    "What!?"

    A barren land welcomed Dante''s sight, he didn''t know where he was and why was he there...

    Well he didhavesome ideas, but he didn''t dare believe them.

    "Could this be the Orb''s inner world?

    But this doesn''t make sense, only Commander level powerhouses can form the most basic innerworlds, and theirs isn''t even remotely as big as mine..."

    With a size already comparable to the innerworld of General level powerhouses, this size could only be described as heaven defying.

    A radius of almost 5 km... Dante was almost going crazy.

    "You are here kid..."

    Dante was pulled out from his daze by a cold voice.

    Trying to put his most amiable smile Dante turned around towards the source of voice.

    The Demon had black skin with golden tattoos on his arms and seven orbs on his chest.

    Dante could see them because the other Demon was bare-chested only wearing a pair of brown shorts.

    He had red hair which gave him a bloody feeling, but the golden eyes mitigated it.

    There was some kindness in those eyes.

    "Paying respects to senior."

    Dante wasn''t stupid, he knew that the man in front of him had to be someone incredibly powerful.

    Just the presence released by this senior was making it difficult for him to mantain his composure, and the number of orbs was an indicator of someone''s power.

    "Nice, you didn''t fall on your knees because of my aura nor did you try to fawn on me, trying to curry favor.

    You are barely passable."

    "Who are you Sir?"

    Suppressing his anger for the second time, Dante mantained a poker face. He didn''t want to offend this senior by any means.

    "My name is Rayleigh and I am a Clan Elder from the Heaven Sundering clan of the Violetmoon continent. You have surely heard of our clan''s great name."

    Reyleigh wore a smug expression on his face, taking great pride in being part of that formidable clan.

    "Violetmoon continent? Sir Rayleigh are you sure that it''s named like that? there is no continent named in such a way, and that clan..."

    Dante was in disbelief he knew that there wasn''t a reason for this senior of his to lie, so what was happening?

    "Impossible, our clan is in the top ten of the most powerful clans of the Demon race.

    No one would dare to change the continent''s name for he would have to face our wrath."

    Rayleigh couldn''t believe what this little demon said, did that fool know how much power and influence the great Heaven Sundering clan had?

    How could it be possible for a clan to obtain control of a whole continent without a great power to back them?

    "Senior, I''m not lying and don''t have any reason to do so. If senior wills it, later I can show you a map of the world."

    "You better not be lying to me kid, or you won''t have an easy life with me."

    Dante was speechless, this senior was really strange.

    ...

    After an awkward silence Dante decided to ask Rayleigh something.

    "Senior where are we now?"

    With a cold snort Rayleigh replied.

    "Wasn''t it clear already? We are inside your Orb, a while ago when you were battling that puny human, the Death Mark system activated to save your little life.

    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.What puzzles me is how could someonelike yoube in possession of the legacy of the great Sardior clan..."

    Dante''s speculations were right, but after getting an answer he was again full of questions.

    "Senior what''s the Sardior clan and what do you mean by saying that I have their legacy?"

    "Kid, do you really know nothing?"

    "No, senior."

    Reileigh was in disbelief, this sort of common knowledge was known by virtually everyone when he was alive.

    Has there been some sort of earthshaking event which changed everything?

    Reileigh was an experienced man so even if he was troubled one wouldn''t be able to see it from his face.

    With calm he replied.

    "The Sardior clan was the leading superpower of my era, their influence encompassed the Central and the Norman continent. Their expansion was stopped only by the alliance of the other Great Nine clans, which had our Heaven Sundering clan as the leader of the alliance.

    One of the main reasons behind their rise to prominance is the Death Mark, no one knows how did they manage to obtain it but it gave them an edge over the other clans.

    The Death Mark most incredible abilities are refining, awakening and teaching.

    Through the Death Mark, the Sardior clan groomed extremely powerful and wise leaders which slowly built a clan capable of shaking the whole world."

    Dante was in disbelief, the things which Reileigh said were never mentioned in the history classes he had at school. The last three thousand years had been the Dungeon Era, what was all this talk about clans and never heard before continents?

    Could it be...?

    No, impossible it''s common knowledge that the world before the establishment of the dungeons was a world of savagery and death.

    Dante shook his head, he decided to leave these things for the future, at his current levelthere was little he could doabout it.

    If it was knowledge hidden from the masses, one had to at be in a high position to know this information.

    After calming himself Dante asked again.

    "Can you tell me more about the powers of the Death Mark?"

    The moment Dante asked this, Reileigh became extremly serious.

    "The three main aspects of the Death Mark are refining, awakening and teaching.

    There are legendary artifacts which can do refining without limits, which means they can refine and evolve your body.

    And there are also many artifacts which can purify your bloodline and soul, awakening your potential.

    Even in those two star clans there are tresures which record the experiences of their ancestors so that the young generations can learn from them.

    But the Death Mark is the only artifact which incorporates these three aspects."

    "Wow!"

    Dante was so stupefied that he couldn''t hold back an exclamation of amazement from escaping his mouth.

    "I struck it rich this time! My future is limitless, I will be able to live as I please without worrying about anyone or anything!"

    But life isn''t so easy.

    "However thereare somerestrictions."

    Dante fell from the heavens.

    "There is nothing like a free meal in this world kid. The Death Mark purpose is raising powerful leaders with a good head, not degenerates."

 Ch. 5: Kid, Whats your name?

    It was to be expected, if the Death Mark was really something without any limitations then through its fraudolent powers the Sardior clan would have easily toppled the Alliance of the Nine Clans.

    Dante was curious about those restrictions so he asked.

    "Sir could you tell me more about those restrictions?"

    Seeing the little demon''s curiosity, Rayleigh nodded in approval.

    "Firstly there is the Merit System, the Death Mark will assign you Merit Points.

    You can obtain merit points by saving the lives of the righteous and by killing the sinful with your own hands.

    Through the Merit System, one of the Death Mark''s aims is to forge a leader capable of discerning right from wrong.

    There will be times in which you will question your own beliefs."

    Rayleigh stopped for a moment to let the new knowledge sink in.

    After thinking about it for a while, Dante asked again.

    "What''s the use of merit points? Is there a principle behind the amount of points given?"

    "Merit points can be traded for artifacts, books and othertreasures which are stored in the Death Mark, these things were left by your predecessors for the next owners of the Mark such as you. The amount of points given depends from the amount of sin done by those you have killed and by the amount of lives you have saved, all of this works based on the law of Karma which isn''t something you..."

    Halfway through the explanation Rayleigh noticed something important.

    "Lad."

    Dante was listening attentively to Rayleigh so he was surprised when he saw him stop without any reason.

    "Is there anything I can do Senior?"

    Rayleigh face reddened in embarrassment.

    "Cough, cough, kid what''s your name?"

    Dante was dazed for a good minute before replying.

    "Erm, the name of this little one is Dante, Senior"

    After regaining his composure, Rayleigh said.

    "Good, good, Dante from now on I will be your teacher."

    Dante was speechless, how did he become someone''s student so fast?

    Not that he minded, his new teacher seemed much more powerful and wise than the Commander of his battalion.

    After a moment of hesitation Dante kowtowed three times.

    "Disciple acknowledges master"

    Rayleigh was clearly pleased with himself as a broad smile formed on his face.

    "You should be confused as to why I''m taking you as my disciple... To explain this, I shall tell you how the Teaching System of the Death Mark works.

    The Mark selects from your ancestors the one who can teach you the most at the moment, when the ancestor accomplishes his purpose another one will appear and guide you to greater heights."

    Dante now understood. It was actually all part of the System.

    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    "Then what about the Refining and Awakening powers of the Mark?"

    Dante felt that of the Death Mark powers, these two would be able to help him the most at the moment.

    He didn''t have Merit Points at the moment and his Teacher''s guidance couldn''t help him in a short time.

    Now what he needed the most was the power to protect himself.

    Rayleigh frowned, he didn''t expect this student of his to care so much about the Refining and Awakening powers of the Mark.

    But he still replied.

    "Refining gives you the ability to evolve and refine your body and soul, evolving is something which leads your physical form to a higher level of existance while refining powers up your body giving it many useful abilities.

    On the other hand Awakening is more like a passive effect of the Death Mark, which slowly purifies your body and improves your potential.

    In fact these could be said to be merely side abilities of the..."

    But before he could finish, Rayleigh saw Dante jumping in the air from excitement.

    "Hurrah! This is the day that the next Demon Emperor will rise!!"

    He finally had some confidence to cure that strange poison which had sealed his destiny.

    "What are you saying foolish disciple!? Now the most pressing matter is for you to get far away from the fortress."

    Rayleigh expression was dark, it wasn''t safe staying in the forest.

    But Dante didn''t understand what Rayleigh implied.

    "Why Master? When I''ll return to the fortress with the report they will treat me as a Hero and reward me for my merits!"

    Rayleigh frowned even more.

    "Maybe I thought too highly of you, do you really think they would reward you? Beside you, your troop was completely annihilated while the legion sent by the Lyle Republic met the same end at the hand of the Necromancer.

    Do you think the Lytal Republic will celebrate the survivor of such a military disaster?

    They would treat you as a deserter and set you as an example while silencing everyone who knew about this.

    You would be just sending yourself to your own demise by returning to the fortress."

    Dante was terrified, he shuddered at the thought of entering the camp with a smile on his face just to be apprehended and taken to the prisons to rot until the day of his execution.

    Seeing the color drain from Dante''s face, Rayleigh was quite pleased with himself, it seemed like this disciple of his wouldn''t easily forget this lesson.

    "Remember, you have to always consider everything and put yourself in the shoes of others. Only by doing so, will you be able to take wise decisions."

    Dante burned these words in his mind, he knew that his Master wasn''t going to remain beside him forever.

    Still a little shaken, he nodded.

    "Yes Master..."

 Ch. 6: Test and The City

    "Dante, before leaving the Orb''s inner world is better for you to make some plans for the future, what you want to do and where you want to go.

    With your current levelyou still can''t enter the Orb as you please. You have to calm your mind and steady yourself before entering it.

    You will be able to enter it as you please only when your spiritual power gets to Lieutenant level."

    Dante nodded after hearing his Master''s words, he had to decide what to do next.

    But before that he wanted to clarify a couple of things.

    "Master to say the truth I''m not really a soldier of the Lytal Republic, I was dispatched from the Dungeon to this place because I am also a citizen of the Republic besides being an elite scout.

    The Dungeon was forced to interfere due to the Lank Kingdom gaining the backing of a troop of powerful Warmage mercenaries.

    This disrupted the regional balance, forcing the General to send a troop of elites skilled in recognition to get a clearer picture of the situation.

    The purpose of the mission was to sneak in the Lank Kingdom and gather information about the mercenaries as to better deal with them, but as Teacher can see, the result was a total wipe-out even before we got into the enemy''s ranks.

    I barely managed to survive becauseI immediatly faked death when I didn''t sense my comrades anymore. "

    Rayleigh nodded in approval and said with a heavy tone.

    "This General is quite the crafty one... Knowing that order would be disrupted because of those mercenaries , he sent a group of elites skilled in scouting to test the waters, a pity that the team was completly annihilated without sending back even a piece of information.

    That Necromancer probably appeared fully knowing of your attempt to sneak in..."

    Dante''s face darkened... Could it be?

    "Master are you implying that there was a spy amongst our ranks? And wait I can still return and report to the General!"

    Rayleigh was happy to see that his disciple could at least deduce that, but then he frowned again.

    "It''s highly probable that there was a traitor, there''s a certain possibility that the Warmages had someone among them skilled in recognition, but I doubt that; if he really was so skilled that he could detect the movement of your troop thenit would have been impossible foryou could to run away alive from the battlefield as you did."

    After releasing a sigh, Rayleigh continued.

    "Now I want you to reflect on what you just said, if you were the General you talked me about and of the troop you sent in recognition only a soldier level little demon returned, what would you do?"

    Dante didn''t expect his teacher to ask him that, but after seeing that his master wasn''t going to tell him anything, he took it seriously.

    "What would I do if I were the General?

    Mmm, would i reward him for surviving? No, it doesn''t seem like it, or Teacher wouldn''t have asked me this."

    Seeing his disciple take it seriously, Rayleigh''s smiled kindly.

    "Dante this is the first test I''m putting you through, I hope this experience will help you grow more resilient."

    Dante couldn''t see it, but in that moment Rayleigh smile held a hint of sorrow in it.

    ..

    After a couple of minutes Dante was still in deep thought.

    "What would I do? Kill him on the spot? No, I wouldn''t lower myself to that, have someone else kill him? For what reason? For what... wait, the scout returned alone from a massacre in which even the Commander level leader died, isn''t it suspicious enough already?

    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.Hahaha, now I understand."

    Even if he was laughing a shiver ran through his spine at the thought of what would have happened to him.

    But still a brilliant light flashed in Dante''s eyes, as he looked more mature after this trial.

    Seeing the change happening to his disciple, Rayleigh smile became even broader.

    "Master I now know the answer."

    "Then say it Dante."

    "In the worst case scenario after seeing me return unharmed from a mission in which even the Commander level Leader died, the General would have me apprehended and torture some sort of confession out of me before killing me for being a traitor.

    In the best case scenario I would probably be immediatly killed as to silence the whole incident.

    The loss of a Legion isn''t a small one and I heard of some Generals being stripped of their position because of something like this."

    Rayleigh couldn''t help but praise him.

    "Very good, you analyzed the situation in a very detailed way which means that your wits aren''t lacking too much. There is only one thing you didn''t take into consideration."

    Dante was really curious to know what he had missed.

    "What Master?"

    Rayleigh smiled wickedly before saying.

    "Do you really think that the loss of a Legion will go unnoticed by those higher ups?

    Because of that spy, the enemy knew about your arrival and used the opportunity to wipe out both your troop and the Republic''s Legion, granting the Lank Kingdom with an even bigger advantage.

    From the numbers of deaths you mentioned it''s obvious to me that it isn''t the work of a single Necromancer but of at least three of them working in coordination.

    For 60 Warmage to already have three Necromancers among their ranks... There''s an extremely high chance that they aren''t just simple mercenaries but some sort of evil cult.

    If youwere really to return to the dungeon, that General wouldn''t have killed you nor tortured you.

    He would have sent you to a King level powerhouse which would have used soul-scrying on you to get out every information they could from you, causing your soul to collapse."

    Death of the soul!

    Dante''s complexion turned pale white.

    When someone died it was common knowledge that he would return to the cycle of reincarnation to experience rebirth.

    But that was under the premise that the soul was still intact!

    If one''s soul collapsed that would mean true death!!

    Dante shivered uncontrollably, he didn''t dare to think about it.

    Just because of the number of Necromancers his fate had changed from death to complete annihilation!

    The tragedy of the weak, those who don''t even know why they died.

    Seeing his disciple reaction, Rayleigh nodded in approval; if Dante hadn''t reacted like this it would probably mean that he had some brain damage!

    "Teacher..."

    Dante tried to say something, but the shock had made his voice turn hoarse.

    "Don''t worry disciple, I won''t count this as a mistake. You passed your first test! Congratulations."

    After a moment Dante finally managed to regain his composure, with a satisfied smile he said.

    "Thanks Master!"

    Seeing that his disciple seemed to have learned the lesson, Rayleigh returned to his serious demeanor and asked.

    "Now where do you want to go disciple?"

    Sensing the seriousness of his Teacher, Dante replied after some consideration.

    "To Winterlake City."

 Ch. 7: The Elf and the Caravan

    Dante quickly ran out of the forest after he left the inner-world.

    While running he paid attention to his surroundings, who knows, there could be some fortress''s guards patrolling the forest.

    But luckily he didn''t encounter any mishaps.

    Dante chose Winterlake city because he heard from one of his close friends in the Dungeon that there was an Assassin''s Guild in the city.

    If he worked for them and chose the right missions, Dante would be able to obtain a sizable amount of merit points which he could use to power-up himself.

    Yes, what he needed now was power. A Soldier level demon like him could die too easily in this dangerous world.

    He could settle himself and marry a good wife as he had said before, but that wasn''t an option anymore.

    Just before leaving the inner world his Master said something which almost made him curse the Death Mark.

    "One last thing my disciple, you have to remember that the Mark will sometimes give you missions to test your growth.

    Failure means death or major penalities.

    I know that you will never fail my expectations so don''t care too much about it!"

    In that moment Dante understood that he wouldn''t be able to live an easy life.

    ...

    ...

    After running for almost fiftykm, Dante finally saw other people four kilometres ahead of him.

    It was a caravan of merchants and they were going towards Winterlake City for trade.

    Dante decided to near them and ask the leader of the caravan if he could follow them.

    However as he approached them, a feeling of unease began to well up inside him.

    ...

    In the middle of the caravan, an elf with a scar on his face opened his blue eyes. After a brief moment of hesitation he got down from his horse.

    On the elf''s back there was a silver bow which released a cold aura.

    Running to the front of the caravan he came to a stop near a refined young man.

    After whispering in his ears for a moment, the elf silently turned his head in a certain direction, holding his bow, waiting.

    The howling wind made his white hair dance wildly.

    In that moment a sliver of dense killing intent could be felt from the elf.

    The young man''s face was grim, he didn''t expect something like this to happen.

    Quickly he went to his father side to tell him the news.

    "Father, the leader of the mercenaries told me that there is a Dungeon''s soldier nearing us at high speed. What do we do?"

    The man didn''t reply immediatly but continued to smoke his pipe.

    After a moment of silence, he said.

    "Let him be, if he wants anything we will try to meet his needs."

    The young man was clearly displeased by the word''s of his father as he replied.

    "But father we can''t take any risks this time! He could be just pretending to be a Dungeon''s soldier and you know better than me..."

    "SILENCE, we all know what''s the fate of those who pretend to be Dungeon''s soldiers, not even the most foolish of fools would dare to do that!"

    The young man was shocked, his father rarely lost his composure like this.

    "Father..."

    The old man knew that he had probably gone too far, so his tone contained some kindness this time.

    "I know son, but it will be much more suspicious if we refuse him and displeasing a Dungeon''s soldier is never a good idea unless you are prepared to kill him... And if you think carefully, wouldn''t it be easier to enter the city with the company of a Dungeon''s soldier?"

    The young man clearly hadn''t though about this, so his tone had some flattery in it when he said.

    "Your merchant abilities have clearly been polished by the sands of time, Father. Your son has still many things to learn from you."

    The old man was clearly pleased with himself as he said.

    "Hahahaha, enough with the flattery son quickly go and stop that elf of ours from shooting down the Dungeon''s soldier."

    The young man didn''t waste any time as he returned to the elf''s side and after whispering some words to him, the elf put the bow on his back and returned to the middle of the caravan.

    ...

    In the same moment that the elf put away his bow, Dante unknowingly heaved a sigh of relief.

    "That''s strange."

    He didn''t know it but his Soldier level senses coupled with his high alertness had warned him of a deadly danger. It was like a sharp swordpointed at his neck, ready to behead him at any time.

    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    After stopping for a moment he continued to approach the caravan, he didn''t feel that sense of foreboding anymore.

    ...

    "Hi I''m Dante a Dungeon''s soldier, can I board one of your carriages and follow you on your journey? I''m not going to abuse your hospitality and will repay you for it."

    After some deliberation Dante chose to approach a refined young man who seemed to be calling the shots here.

    He could see it from the mount and his demeanor.

    "Sure, we are going to Torab, the capital of the Sordan Kingdom, but will make a stop at Winterlake city to resupply. Depending from your choice the price will change accordingly, are you going to follow us to Sordan Kingdom''s Capital or will you stop at Winterlake city?"

    Dante had never been wealthy, what he earned in the Dungeon in the last two years were 1000 gold coins. Coins he had earned with his own sweat and blood so he wasn''t willing to part with them.

    But he knew that he had to pay to arrive at his destination.

    Without showing his troubled thoughts, Dante replied.

    "I''m just going to accompany you until Winterlake city, I''m visiting one of my old friends living there. He''s dying andhis last wish was to see me one last time, to remember our childhood."

    That was obviously a lie, Dante wanted to lower the price by playing the emotion card.

    But could a merchant be so easily fooled?

    "I''m so sorry about your dear friend''s situation, to make your journey safe I will arrange you to a cart next to the leader of our mercenaries. Yeah that guy over there. You surely don''t want any mishaps to happen to you right?

    But you know, the price will be a little higher than the one I wanted to offer you.

    It will be 60 gold coins"

    A cunning smile could be seen on theyoung merchant.

    Turning his head to look at this "all-powerful" leader, Dante was already preparedto bargain the price, but what happened after scared him shitless.

    The elf which a moment ago had his eyes closed and seemed as calm as a windless sea, changed.

    That change wouldn''t have been big for anyone else but the elf''s bearing changed completly because of it.

    He opened his eyes.

    An incredibly thick and ice-cold killing intent enveloped the area, a sea of blood seemed to form behind the elf.

    This killing intent wasonly sensed by Dante, who was the target.

    Dante could swear that he almost saw the Grim Reaper in that moment.

    However just as it appeared it disappeared in a moment.

    The message was clear, don''t mess with us in any way possible.

    Even if you''re a Dungeon''s soldier, you''re too weak to even have the right to bargain with us.

    Dante didn''t speak for a long time, he had to recover from the shock.

    "Fuck, I didn''t expect to meet someone so close to the General level.

    How many people did he kill to have a killing intent so thick?"

    Dante didn''t dare bargain anymore so he immediatly paid the 60 gold coins.

    SeeingDante''s sudden change, the merchant gave a knowing smile to the elf before saying.

    "It''s a pleasure doing business with you, Dante.

    We will arrive in Winterlake city in two days, three at most if the weather is bad.

    We take two stops of an hour each everyday to rest and eat, our guards can protect you but only if you stay in a radius of five kilometres from the caravan, anymore than that and your safety will be up to you.

    Have a safe journey.

    Ah I almost forgot to introduce myself, my name is Theodore."

    Dante could only force a smile and say some pleasantries before heading to his cart, he was still a little shaken from what happened before.

    It was already sunset and Dante was preparing himself for the night when he heard a voice.

    "Hahaha, I didn''t imagine that I would encounter so soon someone who cultivates a slaughtering technique like me!"

    It was Rayleigh''s voice and he seemed pretty excited.

    "Master what are you talking about?"

    Dante didn''t understand much of what Rayleigh had said, weren''t cultivation techniques only limited to drawing and gathering the spiritual energy of the world?

    "I''m clearly talking about that elf archer!"

    Dante was taken aback, could killing aura be cultivated?

 Ch. 8: The Spy and the Resolution

    Seeing the puzzlement of his disciple, Rayleigh said.

    "I won''t say much about it, as with your present strength you won''t be able to cultivate those techniques. However there is something much more important that I want you to understand, in this world there are millions of techniques.

    Some of them can even let you move mountains and vanquish seas, but all of that is useless if you don''t have any principles.

    You would just become a heartless killing machine without any values.

    There are cultivators who, in their pursuit of strength, choose to sacrifice their emotions and become as heartless as the Heavens are.

    But are they right, is that what it means to be a cultivator?

    Always remember that you don''t fight for power but for yourself and those who you care about."

    "I will listen to your advice, Master."

    Listening to his master''s voice, Dante could hear that there was some regret in his tone, what was the cause of it?

    After thinking about it, Dante chose not to ask. A day would come where his teacher would tell him.

    After a moment of silence Dante chose to finish his preparations for the night, then he asked his teacher about something which had been puzzling him for a while.

    "Teacher while I was nearing the caravan, I felt a deep sense of foreboding which I still can''t explain to myself.

    What troubles me even more is that it disappeared as suddenly as it appeared, without leaving any clues for me."

    After a moment of silence Rayleigh replied.

    "Look at that bow Dante, I wonder if that elf can kill a moving target two kilometres from him."

    Dante firstly looked at the bow. No shit that should at least be a Phantom grade bow, it would be easy play even killing a four kilometres moving target, not mentioning a two kilometres one.

    Dante already had a bad premonition.

    Then he looked at the archer. Remembering that thick killing intent coupled with that near General level power, Dante had no doubts about the elf''s archery skills.

    A chill ran through his spine.

    After a while Dante asked again, voice trembling with fear.

    "Master what would have happened if that archer had shot me?"

    After a moment of silence Rayleigh replied with an enigmatic smile on his face.

    "There are no ifs in this world, boy. You will know when the time is right."

    After that, Rayleigh refused any of Dante''s questions on the argument.

    Finally surrendering to his teacher''s stubborness, Dante chose to calm his mind and recount the happenings of the day before going to sleep.

    Dante felt that he had forgotten something important.

    After entering the battlefield, the leader of his troop had decided that infiltrating the enemy''s ranks would have been easier if they split up.

    Dante lost connection with the rest of the troop shortly after, thinking that they had all died he decided to hide himself under a corpse at the border of the battlefield.

    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.Waiting for the battle to end, Dante paid attention to his surroundings, waiting for an opportunity to escape.

    He thought that the battle would last for a long while, but after only a couple of minutes, he felt the everything freeze and a deathly silence enveloped the battlefield.

    "It should be at this moment that the three Necromancers acted."

    But why do I feel that I forgot something?

    A spy told them of our arrival...

    A spy...

    "Fuck."

    Dante now knew why his teacher thought that he was slow-witted.

    "If I am not the spy then who was it?

    Could it be someone from the Lytal Republic?

    Doesn''t seem likely, the Republic''s soldiers have a bone-deep hatred for the Lank Kingdom.

    That leaves only my troop, but they all died..."

    Dante was lost, he didn''t know how to wrap his head around this problem.

    He could have asked his Teacher, but Dante didn''t want to always rely on Rayleigh''s wisdom.

    He wasn''t willing to do that, Dante wanted to prove his worth this time.

    So he kept thinking.

    "I lost connection with all of them, one after another. I still remember that the connection seemed to be broken abruptly for all of them...

    No that''s not right, now that I think about it the connection I had with the Commander..."

    Dante began to boil with anger.

    He still remembered what the instructor had taught them during the Dungeon''s training, at that time they had to create a mental connection with their teammates.

    At the end of the practice they had to break the mental connection voluntarily.

    The instructor heavily emphasized the difference between a mental connection deliberately broken and one broken by the death of your teammate.

    "In the first case you will feel as if the connection was cut by a blade, the connection will break like a snapped rope.

    In the second case you will feel the connection being corroded, if they met a sudden death the connection will simply vanish."

    "In the midst of the battle I didn''t feel the difference, only now I see..."

    After the initial anger, Dante felt sad about his discovery.

    "But why did he do that? He looked like someone you could rely on if I were in danger...

    Was it worth it to betray your teammates? What did they offer you?"

    But after a little thinking he understood.

    "Now I see, it''s always for power isn''t it? Probably he was the only one in our troop who had the qualifications to trade with them.

    In the end our Dungeon was only a third rated one..."

    Resolve replaced Dante''s sadness, his desire for power burning more than ever.

    He didn''t tell his findings to his Master, he decided to keep all of this for himself.

    One day he would kill that bastard.

    It was a quiet night for Dante, but the same couldn''t be said for others...

 Ch. 9: The Sect and The Envoy

    "Did you manage to gather enough life-force for the ritual?"

    Two shadows with a dark aura were walking in a hallway.

    "Yes, I barely managed to fill my quota this time, it seems like the nearby nations are wary of Lank Kingdom''s last move... It''s just a pity that I didn''t manage to find that vengeful soul, I had especially gone to that battlefield just for it."

    After a moment of silence, the other voice replied.

    "Who wouldn''t, declaring war to all the nations bordering you is something only a fool or a madman would do and in both cases one should take great caution when dealing with it."

    The voice was hoarse and it sounded a bit drunk.

    Catching the scent of alcohol coming from his companion, the othervoice replied.

    "For Yura''s sake Donald, you can''t attend the gathering drunk like this!"

    The two seemed to know each other well, as the other replied.

    "Leave me alone Anne, I can handle this bit of alcohol. The Sect Master won''t notice anything."

    But it didn''t convince the other party, as his companion replied.

    "Like that time when you almost messed up a ten thousand soul sacrifice?

    I still remember the face of our Sect Master that time, if it wasn''t because you are his only son I highly doubt that you would still be here, getting drunk and making trouble."

    It looked like Anne''s words had an effect on Donald, as the latter began to shudder as he said.

    "Don''t bring that up, my bones can still feel the pain I went through that time.

    Father was really furious."

    Seeing that Donald seemed to have sobered up, Anne said.

    "Let''s go, the ritual is going to start."

    ...

    ...

    "Is everyone here?"

    A weak but authoritative voice resounded throughout the old hall, even if it was weak it made everyone in the hall feel a sense of pressure.

    "Yes, Sect Master."

    Hundreds of voices rumbled like thunder in the hall, shaking the pillars. After that, everyone bowed towards the altar.

    After a moment of silence, the Sect Master''s voice sounded again.

    "Cain, I see you have returned from your undercover mission...

    Come up on the altar and share with your fellow brothers and sisters your findings..."

    After a brief moment, a middle-aged looking man walked up to the altar.

    He had greyish air, with wrinkles around his eyes which meant that he smiled a lot.

    He had an amiable disposition, which made those who looked at him feel at ease.

    If Dante saw him now, he would immediately recognize him as the leader of his troop.

    Looking at the crowd in front of him, Cain greeted some people before saying.

    "Disciple reports to the Sect. During my stay in the Two star Dungeon which administers this sector of the continent, this disciple made some important discoveries.

    The movements of our group in the Lank Kingdom haven''t been discovered yet. The cover we had used in the beginning has served its purpose as they still believe that we are some Warmage mercenaries, they had some suspicion but just that, they didn''t research it seriously.

    I believe it will take them at least three to five days to mobilize their forces and search for my ex-team, the higher ups of the Dungeon aren''t fools.

    They won''t sit idly. We have already wiped out several legions, this will certainly create chaos in the countries they are managing."

    Cain took a break so that he could let the new information sink in.

    "But I''m sure that most of you were already aware of that, I''ll now say why I left the Dungeon and blew up my cover."

    Cain took a deep breath, he knew the immense value of this piece of information..

    "They know about our return."

    It was a simple sentence, but they carried a weight which brought a heavy silence in the hall. However it lasted only for a moment as the hall immediately turned chaotic.

    "Fuck, I''m dead. No doubt about it, I will be the one first to be killed in this bloody war...

    What shitty luck I have, I have joined them today and I already regret it...

    If I had only known before..."

    The disprited voice of a young noble sounded out.

    If Peter was here he would immediately recognize him. He was the Necromancer who had killed his brothers in arms.

    ...

    "You''re lying, it''s impossible for someone like you to know about this... It could even be a trick of the enemies!"

    There were many people which said something along this line, trying to convince themselves that what Cain had said wasn''t possible.

    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.But no matter how much they convinced themselves, they couldn''t change the truth.

    "Are you questioning my qualifications?"

    Cain''s voice was calm but as it sounded in the ears of the crowd, a sense of foreboding welled up in them.

    In the blink of an eye Cain seemed to change in a whole new person.

    His face which moments before was filled with kindness was now replaced by a hideous and cruel grin

    The commander level aura which Cain had until that moment abruptly soared.

    It didn''t stop until it reached the peak of the General level, infinitely close to the King level.

    His greyish hair had now turned a deep purple, carrying a demonic feeling.

    An aura of nefariousness enveloped the hall.

    Cain looked at the crowd of disciples and elders, no matter where his gaze landed everyone who dared to meet his eyes would fall on the ground, foaming.

    After a few fools gave the example, no one dared to raise their heads.

    "Do you still question my qualifications?"

    Cain''s question was met by silence, no one dared to even utter a word.

    Seeing the results, Cain''s aura changed again reverting to his previously amiable self.

    Horror could be seen in the eyes of many disciples.

    The Sect Master''s voice sounded again in an attempt to ease the situation.

    "I offer my deepest apology to Lord Envoy, we didn''t know that such a great hero was here among our ranks...

    We had eyes but couldn''t see Mt. Tai.

    Forgive the foolish behaviour of the young generation, they are still inexeperienced and easily shaken.

    We will immediately report Your Greatness''s contribution to our sector''s administrator."

    Hearing the words of the Sect Master, Cain''s smile widened even more.

    The mission his teacher had given him required the acknowledgement of the Sect Master along with an important contribution to the Cultivation Alliance.

    When he set out on this mission ten years ago he was only at the Liutenant level, with that meager amount of power the Sect Master would have never acknowledged him.

    Now after a decade he could finally end this charade.

    Clearly pleased with himself, Cain said.

    "In account of your sect''s hospitality I''ll have my Teacher send you some treasures which can replenish your life-force and bring back your cultivation to its peak state, who knows maybe you will even be able to breakthrough.

    I know that twenty years ago you managed to kill one of those Quasi-Emperor level Dungeon dogs but you also sustained heavy injuries, I will make sure to report your merits to the alliance.

    They will send someone to bring you back from the front line in a month or so."

    The Sect Master went wild with joy, for the last twenty years all of his efforts had been focused on healing his injuries and restoring his cultivation, the Lord Envoy''s words had given him a ray of hope!

    He had barely managed to survive by building a sect and having the disciples gather life-force and soul energy to replace his own expenditure, moving from country to country to avoid catching the local dungeon''s attention.

    For the Sect Master the Lord Envoy''s grace was akin to an oasis for a thirsty traveller in the desert.

    To express his gratitude the Sect Master said.

    "The Lord Envoy is indeed a dragon among men, a dazzling figure which will stun our era!

    May this old bag of bones know the name of Lord Envoy''s Venerable Teacher?"

    Cain''s smile broadened even more hearing the Sect Master''s flattery, after a moment of silence he said.

    "My Master''s name is Ceasar, he''s renown across the Cultivation Alliance as Bloodthirst Emperor."

    The Sect Master was stunned, he would have never expected that Cain would be the disciple of such a fearsome figure.

    He was just about to flatter the name of Bloodthirst Emperor, when Cain vanished from there without any warning.

    ...

    "It seems like the good times have ended.

    Anne, do you want to stay beside me in this troubled waters?"

    Donald wasn''t drunk anymore, his clouded eyes had never been this clear before.

    Anne nodded without hesitation, she looked at Donald with eyes full of love and care. When she looked at the horizon a firm resolution could be seen in her eyes

    "In this tribulation, no matter what, I won''t leave your side."

    It was a starless night, the prelude of great changes.

    That night was the one in which the gears of history began their race.

 Ch. 10: Explanation and Mission

    Dante woke up at dawn, a habit which came from the dungeon''s training he had in the past. A joyful expression could be seen on his face.

    "The Awakening powers of the Death Mark aren''t to be trifled with, it''s been less than a day and I already feel as if I was reborn..."

    All his senses had sharpened, with Dante''s skin becoming a lighter shade of red. He could feel a great power coursing through his veins.

    "I should be at the bottleneck to the Commander level... This is madness, in just a day I reached the level of those geniuses groomed by my Dungeon..."

    Dante was shocked, just yesterday he had been in the late stages of the Soldier level and now he had arrived at the peak of the Lieutenant level! This meant jumping an entire level!

    The gaseous Spiritual power of Soldier levels had turned liquid, a hallmark of the Lieutenant level.

    He only required an opportunity for a breakthrough now!

    "Hahaha, i wonder what will be the first bloodline ability I''ll awaken..."

    All martial practitioners regarded the Commander level the true beginning of their Martial path.

    The Demon race walks the path of bloodline manifestation, awakening their ancestor''s power to create a brand new path which can lead them higher than their ancestors.

    At the Commander level, a demon had his first opportunity to awaken his bloodline ability, so this level was said to be the real beginning of a demon''s cultivation.

    ...

    Seeing that Dante had woken up, Rayleigh decided to ask him something which had been troubling him for a while.

    "Dante you always talk about those Dungeons but you never explained to me what they really are, can you tell me more about them?"

    Dante was dumbfounded, who didn''t know about Dungeons in this era?

    Even the silliest of country bumpkins knew what they were!

    "Master I really don''t know what to say, I never expected someone to ever ask me this question..."

    Rayleigh was displeased by his disciple''s reply and it could be seen by the coldness in his voice as he replied.

    "I asked you a simple question, you just need to answer it."

    Seeing his teacher''s anger, Dante replied as respectfully as possible. He basically copied what his history teacher taught them in class.

    "After the Great War of three thousand years ago, the Dungeon System was established. They are the keepers of the world''s safety and order. There are a 165 Dungeons spread around the world''s Five Continents and the ocean.

    The Dungeons aren''t all equal in power but they are differentiated into different tiers, with the lower tiered dungeons being subordinated to the higher tiered ones.

    There are..."

    Dante was about to conclude his explanation by giving Rayleigh some actual numbers, when the alarmed voice of Theodore, the refined young man from the day before, sounded throughout the caravan.

    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    "READY YOUR WEAPONS, WE ARE BEING ATTACKED BY A BATTALION OF HOBGOBLINS!"

    Worry flashed in Dante''s eyes, normal Hobgoblins were comparable to the intermediate stage of the Soldier level, even with his current power it would be a hard fight.

    If he was surrounded by many of them, it would be impossible for him to survive.

    Fortunately there was that near General level elf guarding him...

    Wait, where did he go?

    Wasn''t that elf here less than a minute ago?

    "Fuck, he''s protecting that lass named Theodore and the other merchants... I will have to rely on myself to survive this."

    ...

    Hobgoblins were one of the great tribes which had developed from the great Monster race.

    Initially, Humans believed that Demons and Monsters were the same race as both of them have similar looking Orbs.

    However, that belief was shattered by the extensive research done by one of the greatest human scientists to have ever lived, Isaac Galileius.

    He discovered the differences between the two races, making a great contribution that all the other races acknowledged!

    That was the first time a scientist''s research was acknowledged unanimously by all races!

    If Demons walked the path of bloodline manifestation, Monsters walked the path of evolution!

    The first path used the power of the ancestors to attain greater heights while the second path was completely self-reliant!

    If Demons were known for their great power and wisdom, Monsters were renowned for their savagery and brutality!

    Even if they didn''t have friendly relations with the other races, no one dared to make a move because their ruthless actions were backed by tremendous strength.

    ...

    "Dante you have to be careful, my conservative estimation is that the enemy''s leader should be a late stage Commander level monster. The elf on our side should be able to deal with him and a few other high ranked monsters, the real deal are those 600 Hobgoblins.

    A drop of water is harmless but many of them can make a flood, he''s trying to overwhelm us with numbers.

    Do your best to survive this ordeal."

    A hint of worry could be heard in Rayleigh''s voice, they had joined the caravan for less than a day and they had already been ambushed by a battalion of Hobgoblins.

    Rayleigh found it suspicious but decided to leave it for later.

    "Yes teacher, I will my best to survive."

    ...

    The caravan''s fighting force numbered to a little more than 200, even if you added in the private guards of the merchants they would still be outnumbered 2:1.

    It was at that moment that a cold voice sounded in my head.

    [D level Mission: Kill 60 Hobgoblins and their Hobgoblin Shaman.

    Rewards: 50 merit points, a peak Mortal grade weapon.]

    It looks like I won''t be able to hide until the end of the battle...

 Ch. 11: The Ogre and The Elf

    I looked at the field where we would soon fight. The mercenaries decided to empty some of the carts and overturn them before filling them with dirt and stone, they will act as barricades during the battle, a group of mages was reinforcing them with spells.

    It seems like this wasn''t the first time that they got attacked during the journey, two days ago they were ambushed by a troop of Hobgoblins led by an Ogre. The mercenaries wiped them out but the Ogre managed to flee after sustaining heavy injuries.

    The mercenaries had dipped their arrows in poison but it seems like the Ogre managed to report our position before breathing his last.

    And now here we are, facing 600 hobgoblins because the poison wasn''t Ogre-proof...

    The elf leading the mercenaries divided those who wanted to take part in the battle in teams of three, I''ll act alone as they trust my abilities as a Dungeon''s soldier.

    The elf will lead a team of 90 archers, they will thin the numbers of our enemies while the rest of us will sweep with our swords those who survive their arrows.

    Before the battle, the elf gave us a speech, his voice carrying determination and fighting spirit.

    "My name is Pan and I''m the leader of the mercenaries, I can''t give you the assurance of surviving this ordeal but if there is something that I can do is reward you.

    No one forced you to fight this battle, ALL of you, by your own free will, decided to put your lives on the line for the sake of your survival.

    This is the courage that a true hero needs! This is the willpower that a true leader has!

    My respect for you can''t be more great, so as a token of my admiration the spoils which you manage to collect will be your and yours alone!"

    Admiration? Respect? People always give their best when there are benefits. Pan knew their true nature so he declared that to rouse their fighting spirit.

    He may have incurred the displeasure of the merchants who wanted the spoils but he didn''t want his mercenary company to suffer a loss only because of the greediness of some little merchants.

    ...

    "He knows his business, Dante did you see? That Pan really knows how to deal with people!"

    Rayleigh had a praising look on his face, he was impressed by that elf''s abilities.

    "Teacher he''s just using greed to lead them to an early death..."

    Rayleigh frowned, didn''t his disciple understand?

    "Dante you don''t understand... It''s not what he said that''s important, it''s how he said it which truly matters and is worthy of our attention.

    Let''s leave this discussion for another time, now you have to get prepared, the Hobgoblins will soon enter the range of the archers."

    "Yes, teacher."

    Dante had a grim look on his face, even with his power as half a step Commander level it will still be a really tough battle.

    "It has begun."

    Dante looked up as the first volley of arrows quickly hit the enemy''s first line, there was a bright red arrow among them.

    A great fire was lit, as more than a hundred Hobgoblins burnt to death. The arrows fired by the archers had their shafts full of flammable liquid, which burned immediately when that flaming arrow hit the liquid.

    The mercenaries should have been prepared for similar situations as they didn''t stop after firing once.

    Another volley was shot but this time it wasn''t as effective as before as the Hobgoblin Shamans quickly put out the fire with water magic, only around twenty goblins died this time.

    Pan gave the signal to change to steel arrows, he knew that this trick could only lower the pressure on them.

    Another volley of arrows was fired, but as they were about to fall a deafening roar exploded out from behind the Hobgoblin''s first line, stopping the arrows in mid-air.

    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.Pan''s eyes narrowed, just now he was thinking about the identity of the leader of this monsters.

    He expected their leader to only be a more annoying to deal with brute, but when he heard that roar he knew that all of his predictions had been pointless.

    "Who dares to use tricks in a fight with the great Doron?"

    An ogre with black skin walked in front of the hobgoblins, he had a glowing purple tattoo on his chest.

    The tattoo looked like a raging bull.

    "Great, now we have to fight a Variant Monster with an evolved ability..."

    A Variant Monster alone was already a big headache to Pan, but that evolved ability dramatically increased the danger the ogre posed to them.

    If demons needed time to get used to their bloodline powers, monsters could use their evolved abilities as easily as breathing.

    "It should be a vibration or telekinesis related ability, how troublesome. I''ll have to go all out..."

    Pan put away his bow and took out a sword which released a bloody aura, Pan''s previously white hair turned blood red while the scar on his face began to drip blue blood.

    In the blink of an eye, he was a hundred meters away from the ogre.

    Sensing a dangerous aura, Doron turned alert. He felt a powerful slaughter aura coming off that elf, which made him tremble with excitement.

    "I finally found an opponent worthy of me!"

    Doron exclaimed before dashing off in Pan''s direction, with every step he took the earth would ripple under his power.

    Pan revealed a grin, he ran towards Doron.

    But just as the two were about to clash, Pan avoided Doron''s punch and continued to run.

    Doron''s punch was packed with the full power of his cultivation base paired with his evolved ability, because Pan had dodged it, the punch only hit the air creating powerful ripples in it.

    A massive windblast swept through the battlefield, almost toppling the carts/barricades which the mercenaries had set up.

    "What power!"

    Pan was really impressed by Doron''s punch, as he praised loudly.

    "You dare dodge my punch!?"

    On the other hand, Doron was furious he couldn''t release many punches with that level of power or he would exhaust himself quickly.

    Blinded by fury Doron charged towards Pan again, packing another punch with his full power.

    But that was what Pan wanted all along!

    Pan''s strategy had been to move his battle with the ogre on the Hobgoblin''s side so that he could deal them more damage, the ripples of their battle weren''t something these lowly hobgoblins could bear. If one looked at the numbers one would see that even if the monsters had suffered great losses, they still had an advantage in terms of numbers which would lead to more casualties on the mercenary''s part.

    Seeing how things had developed one of the hobgoblin shamans tried to warn Doron of the elf''s trap, but to no avail.

    It was too late, he only managed to coordinate with the other Shamans to create a layered shield

    The plan was a success, Pan''s grin became even wider.

    Turning his body around the elf readied himself to meet the ogre''s punch.

    Behind Pan, a sea of blood appeared, with a totem of a Satyr in the middle of it.

    Pan''s power rose to the General level.

    "Fourth style: Blood rain"

    A bloody ray of sword light and a punch met in mid-air, under the horrified eyes of all the spectators.

    Both hobgoblins and mercenaries would have never expected to see such an intense battle.

    *BOOOM*

    An explosion enveloped both Pan and Doron.

 Ch. 12: The Battle and The Saviour

    Dante was aghast, he had never seen a clash between experts of such a level.

    Just the ripples of this battle would be enough to injure him.

    "So this is the General level... They are like on another plane of existence."

    Dante was dazed for a moment, but he quickly snapped out of it. In life and death battles of this level one could die without even knowing how he left this world, he always had to be vigilant.

    Dante readied his sword, he knew that soon it would be their turn to fight.

    ...

    Despite the explosion''s might, the Hobgoblin''s side only suffered a minor loss. The 100 layered shield, raised by the eight Shamans'' magic, blocked the large majority of the explosion''s power with only 40 goblins being killed and another 20 or so ending up heavily injured because of their slow reactions.

    The Shamans were horrified, the shield raised by the combination of a third of their combined spiritual power was in tatters.

    If Doron were to battle it out right there, it would be the same as sending them to their graves!

    Luckily for them, Doron seemed to have regained his senses as he didn''t attack the elf anymore, but the same couldn''t be said for Pan.

    Seeing that his plan was foiled by the Shamans'' readiness, Pan drew an arc with his sword towards three nearby Shamans.

    "Blood Line."

    A red arc of light flew at the three Shamans'' necks. Seeing that dangerous line closing on them, the three Shamans began casting magic shields in succession to stop the arc from nearing them, the other Shamans helped them.

    The red arc slowed down considerably after breaking through forty shields, the Shamans heaved a sigh after seeing that their efforts were paying off.

    But that didn''t last for long.

    With a cold harrumph, a sea of blood appeared behind Pan but this time it was churning madly.

    "Condense."

    The red arc shined brightly before condensing into three bloody swords which released a thick aura of slaughter.

    They cut the mana shields as if they were made of butter.

    Seeing that change, the three Hobgoblin Shamans madly fled for their lives. They knew that they didn''t stand a chance against those swords, they tried to cast their fastest escape magic.

    However, they weren''t able to finish casting their spells as their heads were sliced off their bodies.

    The three swords quickly absorbed the Life Cores and blood of the three Shamans, leaving only some dried up corpses as they flew back to Pan''s side.

    When killing a low-level Monster it was enough to just crush their heads or stab their hearts, but higher level Monsters all had incredible vitality.

    Only by incinerating them and in general destroying their bodies could one be absolutely sure of their death, as Monsters would just regenerate and enter a weakened state.

    However, that was true only for those King level and higher monsters, when dealing with General level and lower monsters it was a normal custom when dealing with them to just stab the Life Core of the monster as it was where his essence laid.

    Doron was incredibly enraged by Pan''s swift actions, but he managed to quell his anger before saying.

    "Elf let''s move our battle to another place, our underlings will only bother us here."

    "Ok, there is a flat land 40 km from here, let''s fight it out there."

    Pan had accomplished his purpose, he could now leave this battle to his subordinates without worrying too much.

    Even if they were still outnumbered, the Hobgoblin''s were only left with five Shamans. His four Commander level subordinates could handle them until he returned.

    After a brief moment, the two disappeared from the battlefield.

    ...

    The moment the leaders left, the two sides faced off each other.

    The Hobgoblin Shamans quickly gave some orders as they began recuperating their mana for the next battle.

    On the other side, the four Commander level mercenaries didn''t sit idly, they couldn''t give time for the Shamans to recover. They had to strike now while the iron was hot.

    "We only have to stall for time until our Boss returns, but it''s a given that you can take the spoils of those you kill."

    The four commandersgave some orders to the mercenaries and volunteers.

    The eyes of everyonewere filled with greed, depending on a Monster''s level the value of his Life Core would soar and looting one''s own dead allies was actually pretty common in battles.

    They all went into formation and readied their weapons.

    Seeing that everyone was ready, the four commanders ran into the Shamans direction, not leaving the enemy any chance to recover and declaring the true beginning of the battle.

    They were three hundred vs four hundred.

    The hobgoblins yelled a thunderous warcry as they advanced with shields in hand, some of the weaker mercenaries retreated as they were intimidated by their fighting spirit.

    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.Ten or so mercenaries began firing their hand crossbows at a group ofreckless hobgoblins which were advancing without any caution, setting an example for the other hobgoblins.

    Seeing the situation, Dante began making a plan.

    After thinking for a moment, an evil grin appeared on his face as he waited patiently.

    ...

    "DRAKE WATCH OUT YOUR BACK!"

    Warning his teammate of a hobgoblin backstabbing him,Joseph chopped his opponent''s head before making his way to Drake''s side.

    Poor Drake had been surrounded by three hobgoblins and had barely managed to hold on his life by burning two of them with his fire breath.

    Yes, he was a draconian. The scales on his left arm now revealed a deep gash which revealed his bone, he had stopped the blood loss with a spell but he knew that if it wasn''t for Joseph''stimely help he wouldn''t have survived.

    Trying to put a smile, Drake said.

    "Thanks, buddy, I''ll treat you with some good wine when we get to Winterlake city!"

    Joseph laughed before saying.

    "You better live through this then, I''ve been the one offering for... OH SHIT!"

    They had been surrounded by ten hobgoblins.

    "Is Norman''s team full of idiots, how could they let them in?"

    But they soon understood what happened, looking at the familiar sword held by the hobgoblins'' Chef they knew that they wouldn''t be able to see Norman''s deadpan face anymore.

    Joseph face darkened, but he still had some hope as he asked while fending off a hobgoblin''s spear.

    "Drake, how many times can you still use your fire breath?"

    Joseph knew that their survival depended on Drake''s answer.

    "I''m only left with one breath."

    Drake had used one to save another teammate''s life before but the guy still died in the end, so they had to share an even bigger burden, then he used it to save his own life, so he was only left with a single breath.

    John''s face fell but he quickly recovered as his eyes flashed with madness.

    "Hahaha, the heavens really want us dead but we won''t leave this world without killing as much as we can! Let''s go, Drake, this will be our last battle!"

    Sensing his companion''s resolution, Drake had a solemn face as he fired a breath at the hobgoblins'' chef.

    If they killed him, they would still have some hope of survival.

    However just as the fireball was about to hit him, the hobgoblin chef broke a spherical object before a golden shield appeared in front of the hobgoblin Chef nullifying Drake''s attack.

    On the hobgoblins'' face, a malevolent grin appeared.

    "He actually had a medium grade defensive talisman..."

    They had already lost all hope and resigned to their fate, as they fought without caring for their injuries.

    Seeing a sword about to slice his head, Josephclosed his eyesas a look of release appeared on his face.

    "What happened? Why am I still alive?"

    Opening his eyes, Joseph was stunned by what he saw.

    It had only been fifteen seconds, but everything had changed.

    Seven hobgoblins were lying inpools of blood, while the hobgoblin chef was fighting a single demon with the help of his two underlings.

    Despite being outnumbered the demon fought in a relaxed way, attacking the openings revealed by his opponents.

    The demon was about to finish off the hobgoblin chef when the latter took out a sword-shaped talisman.

    Seeing the object, the demon quickly put an end to the hobgoblin''s life not giving him the time to activate it.

    "He should be quiet the big shot to even have two talismans, strange this is the third one already..."

    The demon murmured to himself, he put the talisman in his pouch before dashing off in another direction.

    "Thanks..."

    Drake and Joseph were filled with gratitude towards their saviour.

    "We don''t even know his name..."

    Joseph felt like an ingrate for not even knowing his saviour''s name, but how could he know? Their saviour had left in the blink of an eye!

    Drake also felt that it was a pity that they didn''t know their saviour''s name but suddenly a delighted expression appeared on his face.

    "Joseph are you blind? He was wearing the Dungeon''s uniform! There is only one Dungeon''s soldier which is travelling with our caravan, we can find him later and show him our gratitude!"

    The two weren''t people without morals, if someone saved their lives they would surely try to repay them.

    "Drake we should drop this matter now and go help our comrades, I''m sure that there are many which are in the same situation as we were... We will share our saviour''s burden! We can''t leave all the work to him!"

    Drake was energized by Joseph''s words, after recovering a bit they went to help the other teams.

    Dante didn''t know, but his actions had set an example, creating a virtuous cycle which had turned the tables of the battle.

 Ch. 13: Talismans and Death of a Genius

    "This isn''t the power a peak Lieutenant level should have..."

    Because of his special physique, Dante''s cultivation had stagnated at the peak of the soldier level for a year.

    No matter how much he exerted himself or fought life and death battle in the Dungeon''s missions, he still couldn''t break through to the Lieutenant.

    And now that he broke through he even reached the peak of the Lieutenant level, isn''t this too far-fetched?

    He didn''t expect such a major gap between him and other Lieutenant levels.

    It was as if he was watching everything in slow motion, his opponent''s every move seen through by him.

    Usually, a peak Lieutenant level could handle from four to seven late-stage Lieutenant levels without sustaining too many injuries, but his limit far exceeded that.

    "With this power backing me, I should be able to hold my ground when battling a Shaman."

    Dante was silent for a brief moment before he said.

    "If I only had this power back then..." A look of regret appeared on his face, but he hid it quickly as determination filled his eyes.

    Dante was behind one of the barricades they had made before the battle, there was no one near him so it was relatively safe, but he still paid attention to his surrounding.

    He began running through the recent battles he had, as Dante felt there was something fishy going on.

    "I have finished the first part of the mission, now I only have to kill a hobgoblin Shaman.

    Of the eleven hobgoblin Chefs I killed, six of them had at least one defensive talisman while 3 of them even had an additional offensive talisman. Ten talismans were at the mid-grade while two of them were low grade.

    Mid-grade talismans can heavily injure anyone under the mid-stages of the Lieutenant level, these monsters were really prepared, they should have someone of great status backing them or there''s no way they would have all these talismans."

    Dante stopped thinking for a moment, he cleared his mind to reorganize his thoughts.

    He looked at the pouch filled with talismans, before pondering.

    "I had to kill forty hobgoblins more than required because those talismans had offset the balance of the battle, and even after killing and running so much I still feel no tiredness.

    Isn''t this too monstrous?"

    He didn''t know that even a Commander level would still need to recover a bit after doing what Dante had done.

    But it had to be said that Dante''s killing efficiency was mainly due to his amazing senses which gave him the ability to attack without wasting too many movements.

    Dante decided to ask his master about the matter.

    "Teacher do you know what happened to my body? Is it related to the Death Mark''s abilities?"

    Rayleigh didn''t answer him immediately as it was probably something even he wasn''t too sure about, but he still replied.

    "Your Teacher only has a general understanding of the Death Mark capabilities, as you the detailed information will have to be bought with merit points, but I still think that your situation is too exaggerated. I understand that you have a sturdy foundation thanks to a year of accumulation but it hasn''t even been a day and your improvement is so shocking, Dante are you one of those blessed with a special constitution?"

    "Actually teacher, your student has been diagnosed to have..."

    Dante was just about to answer his teacher''s question, when he felt the earth tremble.

    A mushroom cloud rose from the horizon, scaring the shit out of Dante.

    He could see it because of its humongous size and the elevation of the ground.

    "What the fuck was that!?"

    "Kid, it should be the work of that elf and ogre''s battle. They should be at the late stages of the battle, if not at their final attacks.

    Hahaha, it''s been too long since I last went all out.

    Dante, you should hurry up and kill a Shaman before their fight ends, it will be too late to act if one of the leaders returns.

    You should be able to handle a Shaman with your current skills."

    Rayleigh''s voice had traces of bloodthirst in it.

    Dante was confused while his voice was still shaking when he asked.

    "Master, what do you intend by one of them? Both of them still have their subordinates here, they would surely return to save them."

    Rayleigh frowned as he replied. The bloodthirst in his voice even more evident.

    "Do you really think that the loser will be able to save anyone aside from himself?

    The winner will return and wipe out the loser''s subordinate."

    Dante didn''t think twice before dashing off towards the battle between Commander levels, the sooner he completed his mission the better his chances of survival were.

    He had to flee as far as he could if Pan didn''t win they would all die here.

    That earthquake only increased the sense of urgency in his heart.

    "Faster, faster."

    Dante ran as if his life depended on it.

    ...

    "Poisonous cloud! Ignite poison!"

    Two Shamans quickly chanted a chained magic as the area were a Commander level mercenary suddenly burst into green flames.

    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.However, the mercenary seemed to have sensed the danger as he gave an instantaneous burst of speed before reappearing near one of his comrades, his complexion a little pale.

    "James they almost got you right now, those Shamans are even able to use such tricks..."

    James shuddered as he looked at the flames which were corroding the spot where he was just a moment ago, had his reaction been a bit slower...

    "Gordon cut the crap we have to stall for time until our Boss... FUCK, LOOK THE BOSS HAS GONE..:"

    But James didn''t get the possibility to finish his sentence as an ice spear pierced his armour and punctured his liver.

    Spurting blood, James fell from the sky but was saved by Gordon who put him in his internal world.

    At the Commander level cultivators formed their inner world in which they could put their stuff.

    Only at the late stage Commander level could life forms enter the inner world.

    With his vitality as a mid-stage Commander level, recovering from that wound would take James no more than two days of rest.

    "Shit, they got James that was actually a trap."

    Gordon felt like the Shamans were playing with them, what was happening? They were now three vs five.

    It would be much more difficult from now on.

    "I didn''t even hear them chant a word... Could one of them have mastered Chantless Spellcasting? No, he shouldn''t be at that level yet or James wouldn''t have simply been heavily wounded.

    At least we can somewhat defend against him, James was too careless just now..."

    He understood the reason why James got careless, seeing that mushroom cloud he left a gap that the enemy didn''t leave unexploited.

    Quickly conveying his findings to his two comrades, Gordon avoided another Magic Bullet fired by a Shaman.

    However, as he avoided the Magic Bullet his expression suddenly changed as what he thought was merely a Magic Bullet revealed the real deal.

    He got tricked.

    It was Force Lance, a 4th Circle magic which could only affect him for a brief moment as its main features were stunning and knocking back the target.

    However, that brief moment was more than enough to decide this life and death in this battle!

    As terror flooded his eyes, Gordon struggled with all his strength to release himself from the binding powers of Force Lance.

    Just when he thought it was the end, Gordon felt the power binding him disappear as if the caster had dispelled his magic. He immediately used a secret technique to escape, leaving an afterimage behind him.

    "Fireball!"

    Right after Gordon disappeared, two fireballs landed on the spot he had been a moment ago.

    The Shamans were smug about their results, thanks to Rain''s Chantless Casting they had been able to heavily injure one of their opponents, forcing him to leave the battle. Now they had even killed a Commander level powerhouse!

    Doron would surely report their merits to the Lord and their positions would surely soar!

    But their pleased expressions quickly changed into shock as they were brought back to reality by the harsh truth.

    Even if Fireball was a 5th Circle magic they had barely been able to cast it, so it should leave some charred remnants of the mercenary''s corpse, but they couldn''t even see cinders!

    However that wasn''t the end of it, what had truly shocked was Rain''s condition.

    Rain had been a mage genius since a young age, mastering 2nd circle magic before twelve years old coupled with him being adept at Chantless Casting, it had turned him into one of the geniuses which the Lord groomed with care.

    Now that same Rain was lying in a pool of his own blood, a sword stuck in his head. A demon was beside him, looting the corpse without a care.

    The two Shamans were furious. Who cares about merits? Who cares about status? They had been tasked with ensuring Rain''s safety and now the boy got himself killed by a random demon at the Lieutenant level!?

    This is a crime which can''t be repaid even with a thousand death!

    Quickly chanting their most powerful magic, the two Shamans used up all their remaining mana in this final attack.

    If they didn''t kill the culprit, Doron would just kill them on the spot when he got wind of what happened!

    The demon didn''t seem to feel the changing flow of the mana around him, as he continued looting the body.

    "Pay the price for your offence demon!"

    A Fireball was cast in front of the two Shamans, compared to the ones they had cast before this Fireball was much smaller but it carried an aura far more dangerous.

    The small size was an indicator of the high mana concentration, which raised its power by two folds.

    It could deal with anything under the peak of the Commander level.

    Seeing that their threat had no effect on the demon, the two Shamans fired the 5th circle magic with all their might.

    The demon seemed to have found what he wanted from the corpse as he calmly looked up at the incoming Fireball.

    A mocking smile could be seen on his face.

 Ch. 14: The Follower and Predation

    After arriving near the battle between Commander levels, Dante didn''t barge in immediately but decided to hide behind a barricade while putting to work the abilities he learnt as an elite scout.

    As the battle between the Commanders was too intense they didn''t sense a little Lieutenant level demon hiding nearby.

    As Dante kept observing the battle, he understood that he had been underestimating them. Even with his amazing senses and peak Lieutenant level cultivation, he would still find it hard to kill a Shaman without being heavily injured by another Shaman''s attack.

    As Dante''s eyes kept looking for an opportunity, his eyesfellon the only Shaman who wasn''t flying, that guywas the strange one of the five as he seemed to be coordinating with the other two Shamans, without caring for the enemy Commander''s attacks.

    Another peculiarity was that the other Shamans were all at the mid and late stages of the Commander level while the young Hobgoblin Shaman was only at the early stage of the Commander level so he should be at least wary of the enemy.

    As he carefully scrutinized the young Shaman, something unexpected happened.

    [A worthy follower has been detected. Compiling the follower''s profile. Compilation completed. Student can view information about the follower before taking his decision]

    A messageappeared in Dante''s head, as a cold voice began reading it.

    It was the Death Mark''s voice or something of the sort.

    Dante felt his head become dizzy as new information entered his head.

    After a minute of pondering a look of understanding appeared on his face.

    "So it''s actually like this..."

    Every leader needed worthy followers and because the Death Mark purpose was to groom the best leader, it couldn''t lack this function. As its host travelled the world and became more powerful, the Death Mark willgive him the possibility to choose worthy followers.

    Name: Rain

    Race: Monster

    Species: Hobgoblin Shaman

    Rank: Commander level

    General information: Rain is a genius of the ???* group led by an incredibly talented leader named ???, since his childhood he has been groomed with the best resources resulting in him breaking through to Commander level at twenty years old, his personality has been badly influenced by all the care he received.

    His talent for magic is great but he still lacks combat experience. His trust level towards his Lord is 70 making it difficult for him to defect to your side. He''s on a training mission to overcome his lack of real-life fighting experience.

    *Student doesn''t have the authority needed to view this information. Due to Student having a cultivation of at least two levels lower than target.

    [WARNING! With Student''s current level and position the chances of having Rain follow you are lower than 2%]

    After a minute the message disappeared quickly as it was replaced by another one.

    Do you accept Rain as your follower?

    [Accept] [Refuse]

    Dante refused immediately, it wasn''t just the fact that his chances were close to zero but also that Rain had become his target.

    He still had to finish the mission issued by the Death Mark and Rain was the most suitable target.

    If he tried to kill one of the other Shamans he would get in the middle of the fight between Commander levels and Dante wasn''t confident in his chances of getting out unscathed. An injury would tie him down and delay his escape.

    On the other hand, he could use Rain''s lack of combat experience against him.

    Dante''s refusal didn''t put an end to the matter as another message popped out.

    [Refusal.Beginning Predation. Target: Rain. Predation partially succeeded. Student can now predate the target.]

    Dante was stunned, he didn''t expect his refusal to cause this reaction. He even thought of the possibility that the Death Mark would penalize him, but he had dismissed the idea right away because it didn''t make any sense.

    He tried to ask the Death Mark what exactly was this Predatory function but he didn''t get any answer, he also tried to ask his teacher, Rayleigh about the matter, but to no avail as even Dante''s master was in the dark about it.

    "I''m still in a life and death battle, I can''t lose too much of my time thinking about it. If Pan really loses and leaves us here at the enemy''s mercy... I have to be quick so that I can be at a safe distance no matter who returns. ."

    Dante already had some guesses as the name "Predation" suggested a relation with killing, but he didn''t dwell too much on it.

    Suddenly his pondering expression was replaced by a vicious one, but he hid it away immediately to avoid being discovered.

    He waited for a chance.

    ...

    "Fuck, we are at an even greater disadvantage now. I have to act before they get wiped out or I will fail the mission.

    I can''t let the Shamans cripple another one of us."

    Dante was shocked by Rain''s abilities, the lad was able to cast magic without chanting and had great control of his spells causing great confusion for the Commander level mercenary.

    He could at least understand that because he had learnt the basis of magic from his parents.

    "No, I can''t let him do that."

    Seeing that the second mercenary Commander was about to die, Dante threw caution to the wind and took the biggest risk since the beginning of the battle.

    He dashed off at his highest speed towards Rain''s back.

    Sword in hand, He didn''t give time for the young Shaman to react as Dante thrust his sword into Rain''s nape.

    Rain gurgled as he choked on his own blood, even in his last moments he still didn''t understand how he died.

    Dante extracted his sword from the hobgoblin Shaman''s head, causing the lifeless body to fall to the ground.

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    In that moment several messages appeared in Dante''s head.

    [Student has accomplished aD grade mission, the rewards will be handed the next time Student enters his inner world.]

    [Congratulations! Student has exceeded the mission''s requirements by killing a 100 hobgoblins and changing the course of the battle.]

    [15 honour points will be awarded.]

    [Host has killed a worthy follower! Due to Student''slack of comprehension, 60% of Rain''s magic comprehension is lost. Due to Student''s ??? a 100% of Rain''s talent is absorbed. Ownership of Rain''s possessions is transferred to Student. Student can now wield Rain''s treasures.]

    Dante was stunned by his gains, this time he had really struck it rich!

    As he read the messages, he felt new knowledge burn itself into his mind as the foggy comprehension he had of magic became clearer and clearer, but that wasn''t the end of it.

    Dante felt his previously faint connection with mana become so clear that he had the impression of being able to summon a dragon with a flick of his wrist!

    That was obviously an exaggeration due to the big difference between his previous and actual state, but the feeling was there.

    "Hahaha, until now I didn''t even see the tip of the iceberg!"

    Still drunkwith power Dante suddenly felt numerous connection being established with him.

    Among them the last one to form really interested him as it was the first one that began forming a connection with him but showed signs of intense struggle as it slowly lost the power to fight and gave way.

    He began to look for that treasure on Rain''s corpse.

    Anyone looking at him would think that he was a foolish little thief looting a corpse without caring for his life, as the two Shamans were threatening him with all their might.

    Dante felt the mana around him quickly gathering above him but he didn''t worry too much about it as he kept looking for the treasure which interested him.

    After searching for a bit Dante finally found it, it was a seal with a halberd carved on a side and a shield carved on the other. Both were enveloped in lighting. It radiated an aura of extreme power but it seemed to be lacking something.

    As Dante looked at it, a wicked grin appeared on his face.

    Thanks to the connection between him and the seal he could use it immediately.

    As Dante looked up at the two Shamans, he smiled in contempt.

    All along he had been aware of the two''s moves, but he still let them play to weaken them further. He didn''t expect them to be so stupid that they used up all their spiritual energy in a fit of anger.

    A mage without spiritual energy was like a soldier without arms and legs, just waiting to be killed.

    The mana in the environment heeds the call of the mage''s spiritual energy and magic circles to create spells.

    In a way spiritual energy was like a general while mana was the soldiers, spells were the formation created by the two with the magic circle harmonizing the process.

    Looking at the Fireball falling towards him, Dante didn''t budge. Coldness radiating from his eyes.

    The moment in which the Fireball''s heat began to burn the grass, Dante did a simple motion.

    He crushed the seal.

    Suddenly a lightning shield surrounded Dante in every direction, the crackling of lightning became the only sound anyone could hear in a radius of 10 km.

    All battles stopped in that moment even the other two Shamans stopped their attacks against the Commander level mercenaries, as they felt a familiar aura appear.

    "It''s the Lord''s aura... is Rain in danger?

    How could those two dumbasses let the life of the young master be threatened!"

    They wanted to leave their battle and go help the young master, but the two Commander level mercenaries didn''t give them the chance.

    ...

    40 km from Dante a terrifying battle suddenly halted.

    If anyone saw the battlefield they would never think that just a while ago it was a flatland.

    The land was ravaged beyond recognition, there was a deep ravine which divided the battlefield into two sides.

    On the right side, there was a thick stench of blood as the fallen scarlet trees dyed the earth withtheir blood-red sap.

    On the left side, the land seemed to have been through several earthquakes as molten lava flowed out of the ground.

    Two figures were standing on opposite sides, catching their breath.

    They were preparing their final attacks.

    "I don''t know why you stopped now, but I canfigure outthat it should be related to that extreme lightning energy which has appeared now...

    The one who made that treasure should have already researched the realm of laws...

    However it doesn''t matter, Doron I acknowledge your power. Let''s end this battle with our next moves!"

    Pan had been horrified when he sensed that aura, he knew that he didn''t stand a chance against someone who had attained that level of power, but he quickly recovered as hefelt that aura of extreme power quickly fade.

    He didn''t dwell too much on it as he had a formidable opponent who needed every bit of his attention.

    His left leg had been nearly shattered by Doron''s power after that freak made a breakthrough mid-battle.

    "Fuck, I''m tired of you elf! I''m gonna put my all on this next move! Be prepared, the enlightenment I received during this battle will be put to good use now."

    Doron was clearly frustrated as he had been seen through by Pan immediately, but he had learnt to manage himself as a single mistake meant at the very least a heavy injury against someone of Pan''s calibre.

    Proof of that were the numerous wounds which covered his body.

    The two glared at each other as their battle reached its final stage.

 Ch. 15: The End of the battle

    "Someone destroyed the will I left in the lightning seal..."

    The seal he handed to Rain had two purposes. The first one was to make it clear that the young Shaman was under his protection, that alone would scare off many ill-intentioned folks and the second was to act as his sword and shield in times of danger.

    He would have never expected that someone would wipe out the will he had left in the lightning seal, disregarding him.

    "He should have powerful mental energy or a cultivation higher than mine, but I doubt one of those all-mighty seniors would lower themselves to bullying a junior... When Doron returns he will be in for a good time.

    I hope that Rain is still alive or those Shamans will be asking for death in the torture chambers."

    His figure couldn''t be seen clearly as he was in a dark cave, only his freezing cold voice could be heard.

    "Does he have an Eye bloodline or is he one of those with special physiques? Hahaha if you are trying to catch my attention I will take you as one of my followers, but if you are an enemy challenging my authority...

    I will take my time to play with you."

    Suddenly he opened his golden eyes, the previously dark and calm cave was now filled with blue arcs of lightning.

    ...

    Dante didn''t know that the commotion he caused had even attracted the attention of that Lord if he knew he would break out in a cold sweat before fleeing to another continent.

    The lightning shield had completely nullified the fireball, leaving the dumbstruck Shamans petrified.

    "It''s the Lord''s aura, how could the demon use the lightning seal? The Lord had even left a fragment of his will to make sure that only Rain could use it, this is madness..."

    The Shamans didn''t know what to think anymore, just now they had lost control of themselves and used up all their spiritual energy in a fit of anger.

    Now they were in a bad situation.

    "Did he wipe out the Lord''s will? No, it can''t be a little Lieutenant level demon isn''t even qualified to touch that seal..."

    However, reality proved the opposite as the little demon stood in the centre of the lighting shield with a smug smile.

    If someone were to carefully look at his legs he would see that they were trembling.

    "What the fuck is this? I almost lost my shit right now... Who the hell made this? I felt that the lightning would make charcoal of me if I made a single mistake."

    That feeling Dante had was really spot on, that Lord''s will didn''t completely disappear before, but decided to lie low and wait for an opportunity to make a move.

    That opportunity came when Dante used the seal, but it seemed like the Death Mark Predation''s abilities weren''t to be trifled with as at that moment it completely destroyed every fragment of the will.

    "Well at least now I feel like my control over it has stabilized, I should be able to hold my ground with this treasure."

    Dark clouds had gathered over the battlefield, the shield''s lightning power had caused a disturbance in the weather.

    "Before I escape from the battlefield, I should deal with these two fuckers who tried to kill me."

    With the seal''s power, he was confident in his chances to heavily injure or even kill those two, especially now that they were weakened.

    Furthermore, he had the feeling that the treasure in his hand had great value so he should silence those two eyesores before they report anything.

    "Cleave!"

    With the establishment of the connection, he had learnt a few basic commands that he could use to control the treasure.

    The crackling shield quickly condensed in a 2 metres long halberd of lightning exuding an aura of extreme danger.

    "I would say that the danger I felt from Pan doesn''t hold a candle to the one I''m feeling from this halberd."

    If the danger he felt from Pan was like a fierce tiger, this one was like an overbearing dragon showing its might.

    It was also related to the fact that Pan was only threatening that time when he tried to haggle.

    The two Shamans were scared out of their wits seeing the familiar halberd.

    "What the fuck, he can even control the Lord''s seal! We have offended the grim reaper..."

    The Shamans fled at their highest speed, without spiritual energy they could only run on their own two feet.

    However, their speed couldn''t be compared to the speed of the halberd, with a motion of Dante''s hand it moved.

    As if hearing Dante''s order a lightning strike fell on the halberd, rain began to fall from the dark clouds.

    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.There seemed to be a thin layer separating the halberd from the rain.

    Baptized by that lightning strike, the halberd released an even brighter light as it sped off in the Shamans'' direction.

    Seeing the incoming halberd the two Shamans'' grew frantic as they took out several high-grade talismans and broke them. It has to be said that a high-level talisman had the power of a mid-stage commander level and they were worth at least two hundred gold coins, but the Shamans'' didn''t feel a pinch as they valued their lives more than money.

    However that was all for naught, the halberd broke through every single talisman they threw at it as if they were made of butter.

    Just when there were less than twenty meters between them, one of the Shamans took out a golden bell and shook it three times before coughing out three mouthfuls of blood.

    A three-layered silver shield enveloped him leaving his partner out.

    "DARKO LET ME IN!"

    At that point the halberd was already three meters away from him, the other Shaman could only give him a helpless silence as he turned his head around.

    "DARKOOO!"

    Screaming the name of his partner, the Shaman''s head flew off in the sky while his body exploded in countless lightning arcs.

    The Shaman in the silver shield trembled in fear and regret.

    It couldn''t be helped, with his cultivation he could at most use the bell to shield himself. Against the halberd''s power, this was his last resort.

    After killing the first Shaman the halberd attacked the silver shield, cracks appeared on the first layer. Seeing the cracks spreading on the shield, the Shaman shook the golden bell for a fourth time before blood began to ooze out of his face''s orifices, madness could be seen in his eyes.

    The shield''s cracks disappeared as it began releasing a golden lustre.

    "Treasure..."

    Seeing the bell''s power, Dante felt greed overcome him as he commanded the halberd to madly attack the shield.

    After twenty seconds of continuous attacks, the Shaman was on the brink of death as the golden shield finally broke apart, the halberd killed him immediately.

    With the two Shamans'' death, the battle had ended. Dante called back the lightning halberd which condensed once again in a seal and returned in his hands, the blue light it radiated had become dimmer after killing the two Shamans.

    Dante approached the golden bell with caution as he had witnessed its power, luckily nothing happened.

    "When I have time I should refine it."

    Picking up the bell, Dante took the spatial rings of the two Shamans and put them in his spatial pouch, they were Commander level Shamans and surely had some wealth on them.

    "I should leave this place and hide before it''s too late."

    Dante ran away from the battlefield, he feared that Pan couldn''t make it.

    ...

    "Darko and Cadoc died..."

    The other two Shamans felt their connection with their two partners vanish.

    "Cadoc died immediately while Darko struggled for some time before meeting his end. Did those mercenaries have a hidden trump card?"

    The two Commander level mercenaries were doing their best to tie down the two Shamans, during the battle they felt them grow restless two times with this being the second time.

    "Has something happened to the other two Shamans? James and Gordon are still alive as we still feel a connection with them, then is it related to the fight between Doron and Pan?"

    The two mercenaries had many thoughts in their mind but they left them for later as they were still fighting.

    However just as they were about to attack once again, something incredible happened.

    A blinding light stopped all fighting before a deathly silent fell everywhere in a radius of 70 km.

    That silence lasted for more than a minute, in which no one moved before they heard the sound of an immense explosion.

    Their ear-drums began to bleed as the shock wave knocked them 15 meters backwards, the earth quaked and the rumbling of thunder became even louder in the sky.

    Dante didn''t hesitate anymore when he saw that shock wave arriving. He muttered to himself something before entering his Orb.

    "I don''t care anymore this shit is too much for me, I will come out after I get my rewards."

    Until now Dante didn''t want to enter his Orb because if anyone saw him entering it while he was still at the Lieutenant level they would surely be suspicious, but as there was no one near him he decided to do it anyway.

    He really needed some time for himself.

 Ch. 16: The Change and Welcome

    "In the end, he forced me to use the fourth Scarlet Sword"

    Pan looked at the deep abyss which had formed in the middle of their battlefield, several spatial cracks had formed due to the sheer power of their final moves.

    "This level of power is already comparable to those King levels who have found their path... The commotion will surely draw the attention of the Dungeon."

    Pan didn''t expect Doron to obtain a Divine Protection after gaining enlightenment in his evolved ability.

    "What a freak! He caught the attention of one of those sovereigns of the Monster race... He will surely experience a meteoric rise in the future."

    Pan only felt respect for someone of Doron''s calibre. The elf had always treated that fourth sword as a trump card and as a double-edged sword. It was his trump card because the sword formation he practised would rise four times in power with its addition, but at the same time, it was a double-edged sword because he couldn''t control it well and it affected his mental state.

    Proof of this was the loss of his right arm.

    "Hehehe, at least I didn''t let that Doron leave unscathed."

    He still remembered Doron''s horrified face as he damaged his Life Core, it would take the ogre at least a month to recover even with the Sovereign''s help.

    "In the end, he fled or it would be better to say that I spared him."

    Pan''s satisfied face quickly darkened when he thought about what happened.

    "I would have never thought that Doron was under the wing of Lord Ceasar, one of the supreme geniuses of the Monster race. If Doron only had a Divine Protection I would still kill him as there are many monsters who have it, but that Ceasar... He isn''t someone I can offend, even the Lord backing our mercenary group would have to bow in front of him."

    Pan clenched the only fist he had left, in it was a medallion with a dice and a river carved on it.

    It was Lord Ceasar''s symbol.

    "The last time someone offended him, he personally went and slaughtered a clan of three thousand people with his own hands. When they tried to stop him, he killed all pursuers. When the Dungeon sent a battalion of commander levels he turned them into charcoal. In the end, no one could do anything to him as his Master personally mediated the situation.

    Now that five years have passed he is surely more powerful than before."

    Pan shuddered at the thought of being hunted down by someone like Ceasar, but he managed to calm himself quickly as he still had many things to do.

    "I have to return to the battlefield and kill those puny Shamans. I shall stabilize my injuries and recover a bit before going."

    The battle had been decided when Doron chose to flee now it was only a question of cleaning up the surviving hobgoblins.

    ...

    After he entered his Orb, Dante found himself in the same barren land he left the last time.

    No that''s not right, there were actually some big changes.

    He could feel that the inner-world had grown to the size of 8 km after his breakthrough to the peak of the Lieutenant level, now at the centre of the land, there was a towering bronze pillar.

    Near the pillar, there were three buildings, a library, an armory and a temple.

    The three buildings formed a triangle with the pillar at the centre.

    Two km from these buildings there was a Colosseum exuding an ancient aura.

    Dante was stunned when he saw these things, after some thinking he quickly understood that they were related to the Death Mark.

    "Impressive isn''t it? The Death Mark abilities are heaven-defying. Generation after generation of Sardior clan''s leaders have walked the doors of these three buildings and now you also have the possibility to attain their greatness if not more!"

    Rayleigh''s excited voice sounded out. Dante looked at his teacher who looked the same as before, red hair and golden eyes which balanced his bloody aura. On Rayleigh''s arms, there were golden tattoos which stood out due to his black skin.

    "Master, can you tell me more about those buildings?"

    Dante''s curiosity had been piqued, he still remembered how Rayleigh had described the Sardior clan... They were the overlords of Rayleigh''s era as they ruled by themselves two of the five great continents. What kind of existence was the leader of that clan?

    Even if he was amazed by what Rayleigh told him, Dante still felt that something was off.

    How could such a great clan not leave a mark in history? Had they truly existed, how could the current world not know about their greatness?

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    Rayleigh had long ago sensed Dante''s doubt about the things he said, but he let it go as even he had a bad premonition about it.

    "Patriarch, have we underestimated the threat of the Outsiders?"

    He had asked himself this question countless times until now without reaching an answer, maybe he would never get one...

    After a moment of silence, Rayleigh answered Dante''s question after putting these matters in the back of his mind.

    "I can only give you some general information and I will explain the reason during my explanation.

    I will begin from the Colosseum. The purpose of the Colosseum is to give you fighting experience by making you fight against the previous owners of the Death Mark when they were at your level, by winning you can obtain conquest points which have a value ten times higher than honour points."

    Rayleigh halted his explanation so that he could let the new information sink in.

    Dante was dumbfounded, he had never thought that he would have the chance to battle the previous owners of the Mark.

    After a while, Dante finally recovered and another question which had been puzzling him since he completed his mission.

    "Teacher, what are honour points exactly?"

    Rayleigh smiled before answering.

    "I knew you would ask that honour points are rewarded when you change the course of an event to your side''s advantage or when you accomplish great things. Your status in the Death Mark system is now that of ''Student'' by obtaining enough honour points you can upgrade your status to the next level which is ''Elder'', this is really important as your status determines the degree of authority you own in the Death Mark."

    Dante already had some speculations about the use of honour points, many of which had been confirmed.

    His status as ''Student'' meant that he had the lowest of authorities which explained why he couldn''t see some of Rain''s information before.

    Seeing that Dante had understood everything, Rayleigh went on with his explanation.

    "Now let''s talk about the Temple, that will be the place where you will receive your rewards. For now, that''s it, but you have to remember that the Temple is actually the most important building among them, when your status reaches the Baron level you will understand.

    The Library and the Armory are actually pretty similar in function, anything in them can be bought with merit points.

    In the Armory, you can buy all types of artefacts, weapons and armours while in the Library you can buy books, grimoires and diaries.

    They work like a normal store except that there are some set requirements when you try to sell them something, those requirements will be explained by the Administrators of the buildings."

    Looking at Dante''s face, Rayleigh decided to add something.

    "Yes, there are Administrators. Even the Temple has one but you won''t be able to interact with him now, they are the incarnations of those Death Mark''s owners who contributed the most to these buildings.

    You have to remember that all the items and artefacts in the Library and the Armory have been supplied by the previous owners of the Mark.

    Now go to the Temple to pick your reward, the next time you will be able to explore everything. You have to return to the battlefield quickly."

    Dante was enlightened by Rayleigh''s words but hearing what his teacher said, he frowned.

    "Teacher I was thinking of staying in the Orb for a day, to make sure that no matter if Pan or Doron won I would still be safe."

    Hearing his disciple response, Reileigh''a face darkened as he said.

    "You are underestimating that elf, the level of power he displayed against Doron at the beginning wasn''t his limit.

    As a half step General level, the technique he practices lets him display his peak power only when he enters a berserk state and when he fought at that time he could still maintain a clear mind.

    I can assure you of Pan''s victory, besides you wouldn''t be able to remain in your inner-world for a day with your Student level status."

    Dante was stunned by Rayleigh answer, but he still couldn''t help say.

    "But it''s my inner-world!"

    Rayleigh laughed as he said.

    "The Death Mark has long since remodelled your inner-world''s essence, you can only remain in it for half a day with your status as Student."

    Dante walked to the Temple with a crestfallen face, he didn''t look like someone who was about to get a reward.

    ...

    ...

    After leaving the inner-world, Dante quickly returned to the battlefield.

    As he ran, he saw several uprooted plants due to that shock wave from before.

    Finally arriving at the battlefield, Dante was welcomed by thunderous cheers.

    "Hurray! Our Saviour is alive!"

 Ch. 17: Greed and The Diary

    Pan had already wiped out all the remaining hobgoblins by the time Dante arrived and had even begun re-organizing the survivors of the battle.

    The elf had already taken out the carriages and the merchants from his inner-world, they had entered it before the battle as it was the safest place of all.

    Putting up a broad smile, Pan said.

    "The fame of the Dungeon''s elites isn''t undeserved, Sir Dante''s feats are the hottest topic right now! I feel deeply ashamed of being unable to recognize your genius at first glance..."

    Pan didn''t give time for Dante to say anything as he went on to say.

    "As per the agreement, we will reward your selfless and heroic actions by giving you a fourth of the life cores we acquired!"

    A fourth! That meant at least a hundred Life Cores which were all shiny gold coins!

    Dante had single-handedly killed a hundred hobgoblins, saving the lives of many and earning the admiration and benevolence of the great majority.

    That was because everyone mistook Dante''s hurried attitude as a demonstration of his good character, he didn''t even collect the Life Cores of the hobgoblins he killed!

    They didn''t know that Dante felt heartache at the thought of all those Life Cores he didn''t pick up, he was only able to take the Life Cores of the two hobgoblin Shamans before escaping.

    Dante had been in a hurry because of the mission, if he hadn''t feared the two leaders'' return Dante would have taken his time to loot as he pleased!

    Now that they were offering him all those Life Cores, he didn''t hesitate for a second when he grabbed the spatial pouch full of them.

    Suddenly a ghost-quiet silencedescended upon them as towering flames blazed with their scarlet-blood shine, after looking at those flames for a long time, Dante could swear he saw their faces.

    The facesof those who didn''t survive the battle, their bodies were being cremated but their lingering wills were still there.

    Some of them were screaming, some were crying. Some would just stareat those who survived blankly, eyes void of emotion, before laughing madly.

    Even the merchants bowed their heads, praying for the deceased and thanking them for their noble sacrifice.

    After a long silence, the words and grief of everyone were voiced by Pan.

    "We bid you farewell, brothers. We pray for you to reincarnate andwalk farther on your cultivation path while still preserving the same virtue you possessed in this life. Don''t worry we won''t let any suffering befall on your relatives.

    Let the Heavenly Laws be the witnessof this oath."

    Pan''s words provoked areaction, as the heavens rumbled and lightning fell on him.

    Unexpectedly, Pan was unfazed by the lightning as he stood there while looking at theflaming faces.

    That was heavenly lightning, if one were to break his oath, the lightning would immediately destroy him in body and soul, returning him to the world.

    When they saw the lightning, the lingering wills gradually quietened.

    Their twisting faces faded away, their expressions a mix of fear and relief before the peaceful calm of death ended everything.

    They were now on their way to reincarnation.

    Dante sighed in regret as he said to himself.

    "I still can''t protect everyone..."

    Again, Dante felt how difficult it would be the path ahead.

    ...

    ...

    After chatting with many of the mercenaries noon had already come, but the sky was still cloudy because of the previous battle.

    Thanks to his amazing senses, Dante felt some unfriendly gazes from some of the mercenaries but they disappeared quickly.

    Dante decided to leave for his cart to relax and check his gains after this adventure if someone had a problem with him he wouldn''t care too much about it unless they were at the Commander level.

    ...

    "Raynold don''t even think about it! Even if you were able to band a hundred mercenaries to rob him, you wouldn''t hold a candle against Dante.

    Have you forgotten how he effortlessly killed a hundred hobgoblins?

    Is your life worth less than some Life Cores?"

    Raynold could be considered as the leaders of those who were planning to cause trouble for Dante.

    However as he heard his friend''s words, he regained his clarity of mind and began to tremble at the thought of ambushing someone of that calibre.

    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    "Thanks, Joseph, I was blinded by greed just now but you saved me from a bad ending."

    Seeing his friend abandon every greedy though about the Life Cores, even going to great lengths to persuade those twenty or so people who had been in cahoots with him.

    ...

    "Boss, why did you give him a quarter of the Life Cores and let him take those Commander level''s Life Cores?"

    One of the Commander level mercenaries voiced his disagreement with Pan''s decision.

    However, it wasn''t the elf who answered him but Gordon.

    "Jake I already told the Boss what happened, that demon isn''t as simple as he looks.

    That Dante killed with his own abilities an early stage Commander level Shaman before binding an incredibly dangerous Dao Seal and killing two late-stage Commander level Shamans without much effort.

    Tell me, Jake, if you were at the peak of the Lieutenant level like him, would you be able to do the same things he did?

    It''s clear to everyone here that he is one those geniuses groomed with the greatest care by the upper echelons of the Dungeon!

    He should be on an undercover mission right now and we should offer him our sincerity as he has already helped us.

    In the end, we can''t simply offend him for some money!"

    As if struck by lightning, Jake''s greed quickly turned into fear at the thought of offending such an incredible figure.

    If Dante were to know who they thought he was, he wouldn''t know whether to laugh or cry.

    Seeing that his subordinates were all convinced Pan gave a series of orders to the mercenaries so that they could resume their journey quickly, after that he began to carefully heal his injuries, having lost an arm he would need at least three months of recovery.

    ...

    After boarding the cart Dante still received visits and gifts from many grateful people, even the refined young master named Theodore came to befriend him as he moved Dante to a high-class carriage.

    This new carriage was like the opposite of the cart where Dante had been staying, it was far more comfortable and luxurious.

    Among the visitors, a draconian and a human''s gifts stood out, as they thanked him with their share of Life Cores and a strange gem.

    It was already night when he finally got some quiet.

    Dante looked at the peak mortal grade dagger he had chosen as a reward, the weapon seemed ordinary but a closer look would reveal its dangerous sharpness.

    The reason behind Dante''s choice was that he needed a weapon for when he entered the Assassin''s Guild, he couldn''t use the sword he had now to kill his targets...

    The black dagger was exactly what he needed as it didn''t catch the attention of others and was easy to conceal.

    Next, he looked at the spatial pouch filled with Life Cores, to his amazement they gave him a quarter of the total Life Cores (six hundred) and not of the ones they had battled (four hundred).

    Dante was delighted, but he still felt a bit suspicious as he didn''t understand the reason for such a big gift, nonetheless, he wouldn''t give it back.

    After relaxing a bit, Dante remembered something which had been puzzling for a while.

    "Teacher you explained me the function of those buildings before, but what is exactly that towering Pillar at the centre of the inner-world?"

    Rayleigh had purposefully left the explanation of the Pillar''s function, as it needed more time.

    "If you hadn''t asked, I would have explained it the next time you entered the inner-world but as you have time to relax I guess I will just say it now.

    The Pillar is where the results of your assessments appear, you will be ranked with the previous owners of the Death Mark when they had your cultivation level.

    As the Death Mark owners are more than fifty and the ranks who appear on the Pillar are limited to the Top 50, at the beginning your rank will be displayed by showing the name of the owner before and after you on the unranked list.

    It''s the greatest of honours to enter the Top Ten and the Death Mark will reward you handsomely if you get in it, the higher your cultivation the higher the value of the rewards will be as it gets more difficult."

    Dante was amazed, he would have never expected that he would have to compete with those incredible figures.

    After a few moments, Dante managed to calm himself, taking out a diary with an orange skull on its cover he began to read it.

    While reading the diary his face displayed various expression which ranged from puzzlement to understanding, just like that Dante spent the rest of the journey reading that diary, only going out of the carriage to eat or chat with some friends he had made.

 Ch. 18: Farewell and Preparations

    "Dante are your sure? Torab is the capital of the Sordan Kingdom and it''s far grander than Winterlake city and it''s filled with many opportunities! Even the headquarters of our mercenary company is there... At least take this, it''s our invitation card."

    Gordon tried to convince Dante for the umpteenth time but he knew that his offer would most likely be turned down, so he gave him an invitation card for the future.

    The two got to know each other in the last three days and it could be said that they had become close friends.

    "I really can''t, I have some important business in Winterlake city that I can''t delay anymore. I''ll be sure to visit your headquarters when I go to Torab... Hehehe, you better be there when I visit."

    The Caravan had already resupplied the day before and they were now ready to resume their journey.

    Dante wanted to bid them farewell so he decided to delay his schedule a bit.

    Theodore, the young merchant, even gave him a recommendation card for the merchant guild as a token of his appreciation, so that they would give him fair prices in the future.

    Still, Dante felt it was a pity that they had to part ways as he had befriended many of them, but he still knew that he was only an abnormally stronger Lieutenant level.

    In any organization, only those at the Commander Level and above could be said to call the shots!

    After three days of rest Pan had already recovered a lot from his injuries thanks to his special slaughtering technique, but his lost arm would need at least three months to heal.

    Seeing that everyone was ready Pan waved his hand towards the city walls before nodding in acknowledgement towards Dante. Duringthose three days, evenPan thought that in the future Dante would become someone worth befriending.

    In the end, true friendship could only be established between peers.

    "Farewell, have a safe journey!"

    "Have a good stay in Winterlake city and remember to visit us when you come to Torab!"

    And just like that, the caravan departed.

    Dante felt a bit empty, but after a few moments, he decided to burn those precious memories in his mind.

    ...

    The day before Dante had explored the city with Drake and Joseph as the guides, the duo had visited the city several times and were already familiar with the city.

    They had suggested him a good inn and gave him some information about the local powers and the nearby locations, so Dante only lost himselfa couple of times as he looked for the inn.

    Entering the nice looking inn, Dante looked for aplump middle-aged woman before saying.

    "Good day! You should be the manager, can you arrange me a spacious room?"

    He didn''t know why but his voice was louder than normal and this brought a good scare to the manager.

    Shehad been sweeping the floor quietly when that loud voice almost made her lose the broom in her hand, turning around she forced a smile as she politely greeted.

    "Welcome customer, we only have three free rooms now and as luck would have it, one of them is a spacious room.

    The price is three gold coins a day with all services included, for how long do you mean to stay?"

    Initially, the woman wanted to cause some trouble to this newcomer but seeing how she couldn''t phantom his cultivation she gave up on the idea.

    Dante already knew the price thanks to the help of Drake and Joseph so he had already prepared the money.

    "I will stay indefinitely, here is an advance for half a year''s stay."

    After saying that he pulled out6 bills of a hundred gold each.

    In the five continents, the lunar calendar was the most commonly used so all transactions were based on that.

    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    The pupils of the manager almost turned into gold coins as she saw 600 gold coins taken out like that.

    "Rich! I struck it rich! One of those young masters has come to my inn!"

    The manager was really excited as she took the money and almost forgot to give the customer his change, six hundred gold coins were the amount of money they made in a good week!

    Dante felt some heartache when he handed the money, but as he remembered the Life Cores in his spatial ring he quickly regained his calm, the price of a soldier level Life Core ranged from 30 to 40 gold coins with Lieutenant level ones being sold at prices whichreached three digits.

    Less than a week ago he only had on him no more than a thousand gold coins, but now everything was different.

    The manager quickly handed him the key to his room,only now did Dante noticed thatthe manager was at the late stage Soldier level.

    Dante was surprised but at the same time, he found it reasonable as a weak manager could be easily bullied.

    Walking upstairs he quickly found his room and entered it, it was a neat room with a bed and some good furniture.

    A window lit up the room, walking closer to it, Dante found out that it was actually reinforced with mana.

    Had it been before he experienced Predation, Dante wouldn''t have sensed anything from that window, but now his mana sensitivity was much higher than before.

    Heading to the bathroom, Dante washed away all worries with a good shower.

    He could have simply cleaned himself with the 2nd circle spell "Clean", but a spell couldn''t beat a nice shower.

    After drying himself and wearing some comfortable clothes, Dante lied on the bed and began thinking about the plan he hadworked out.

    "The most pressing matter right now is breaking through to the Commander level. The Assassin''s Guild doesn''t accept anyone under that level, I should sell some of my Life Cores to buy what I need for the breakthrough."

    After reading the diary Dante understood the value of planning, without plans one would be like a leaf whodoesn''t know where it will land.

    "Joseph told me about a secret cave which his grandpa found years ago, apparently it was the den of a terrifyingWerebeast in the past. Even after the passage of countless years, no Werebeast dared to enter it even though it has extremely rich mana.

    I had thought of entering the Death Mark to breakthrough, but this cave should do."

    Even if he found a place to breakthrough, Dante still felt really vexed.

    "By the time they are about to breakthrough to the Commander level other demons have long since done a complete research on their ancestors and already know their path, while I don''t even know who are my real parents..."

    Dante had been adopted when he was still a child because his biological parents had been killed, being adopted and with his biological parents dead... It could be said that Dante''s path had long since been cut off.

    For the Demon Race adoption was a taboo, the woman who took care of him also died after a few years due to an illness.

    A flaming rage appeared in Dante''s eyes but he quickly suppressed it as he knew it wouldn''t give him a solution.

    He knew it because he had experienced that same rage too many times.

    "Our Demon race walks the path of bloodline manifestation, awakening the bloodline abilities of our ancestors we combine them in a brand new path which can lead us higher than ever...

    Do I really have to randomly choose on my first awakening?"

    Dante resigned himself to his fate, at the end he couldn''t do anything about it.

    He could only hope for some sort of miracle.

 Ch. 19: The Merchant Guild

    Winterlake City stood at the border with three nations, theLytal Republic and the Sordan and Lank kingdoms.

    While the Lytal Republic and the Lank Kingdom are equal in power, the Sordan kingdom is already comparable to an empire in power.

    Winterlake city took advantage of its strategic position and became a prosperous trade centre where even the goods from other continents could be found.

    The superpower which backed the freedom of Winterlake City was an extremely powerful organization which had several King levels and was rumoured to have an Emperor level powerhouse amongst its ranks.

    Dante was walking the main road of this bustling city. Even if it was night the streets were still bright and colourful, a testament toits fame as the city that never sleeps.

    Looking around Dante saw people of many different races and of all walks of life. There were commoners, soldiers, nobles and clerics all doing the same thing.

    They were all heading towards the City Center, like moths to a flame.

    "What a hassle! Until now I''ve already been the target of three robberies... It''s good that I already have an inner world where I can store my things or even with my amazing senses it would have been a bother to deal with those little thieves."

    In Winterlake city, if someone didn''t have some power or status he would be devoured by the dark organizations which thrived here.

    The same could be said for any other city but Winterlake City didn''t have the Dungeon''s direct protection so the criminals became really bold.

    Dante decided to speed up his pace, the earlier he finished the better it would be for him.

    However the crowded road didn''t give himthe possibility,so he could only grit his teeth as he didn''t want to cause a commotion by bumping into one of those powerful figures with a bad temper.

    Anyone in the crowd had his own special means to deal with these problems, Dante couldn''t risk proking them.

    ...

    Twenty minutes later, after dealing with another couple of thieves, Dante finally arrived at the Merchant Guild.

    It was a seven floors building with exquisite high-reliefs of warriors carved on the pillars which supported it.

    Dante was awed by suchgrandeur, the Merchant Guild truly lived up to its name!

    Merchants were one of the most respected occupations in the Five Continents as they had really harsh requirements on their members.

    To become a Merchant one had to first pass the exam for 1-star Appraisers and the exam for another occupation, those were the requirements to become just a 1-star merchant!

    Many people found it difficult to pass the exam for only one occupation!

    Dante looked at the pillars for a good minute before entering the Guild.

    At his current level and status, Dante could at most enter the first floor, from the second floor and above there were harsh requirements on the customer''s status and cultivation.

    At the end of the day, the time those 2-star and above Merchants had was limited and they couldn''t lose it by dealing with soldier and Lieutenant level people.

    Without even looking at the items and Merchants on the ground floor, Dante headed straight to the first floor.

    On the ground floor, there were only items useful for Soldier levels and they were dealt by apprentice Merchants which still had to pass their exam.

    Near the stairs which led to the first floor there were two Commander level guards which confirmed Dante''s qualifications.

    Even his status as Dungeon soldier couldn''t help Dante too much here, he could only rely on his own power.

    As he arrived at the first floor, Dante felta refreshing tea fragrance enter his nostrils. The fragrance alone was enough to make him feel comfortable as he even sensed his mental energy level rise a bit.

    Mental energy was important to every cultivator as it gave them resistance to illusions but more importantly because with a high mental energy one would be able to use his spiritual power more efficiently.

    If spiritual power was like the soldiers, mental energy was like the general.

    Dante was already impressed by the Merchant Guild but seeing how they could use such an expensive tea just to welcome their customers... Unfathomable, their depths were immeasurable!

    Still a bit shaken Dante made his way to a free counter just now he had been too deep in thought.

    ...

    "Look Morty another country bumpkin has arrived!"

    "Don''t say it out loud, Rick! He''s wearing a Dungeon uniform..."

    "Who cares Morty, unless he is one of those geniuses groomed by the Dungeon he can''t do shit to us.

    Hahaha, look at the stupid face he has! He must have smelt the tea fragrance!

    I can''t get enough of their reactions..."

    "Shut up Rick! He''s coming this way."

    It wasn''t the first time that the duo joked about their customers to relieve their boredom.

    Stolen novel; please report.Even if the customer heard them and got angry they would still get away with it thanks to their identities as 1-star Merchants unless the customer had some big background... But then he wouldn''t reactlike a country bumpkinif he was really a big shot.

    Regaining his composure, Rick said politely.

    "Welcome customer, how can I help you?"

    Dante didn''t think that the Merchant would have such a nice attitude, he had expected him to act all high and mighty due to his identity.

    With a smile on his face, Dante answered.

    "I would like to sell some Life Cores, I hope you will give me a fair price."

    After saying that Dante took out the recommendation card that Theodore had given him.

    It was a silver card with a golden librain the middle.

    Seeing the card Rick was shocked.

    That was the recommendation card of a 2 star Merchant!

    How did this country bumpkin get it?

    After recovering his composure Rick asked.

    "Dear Customer, can you tell me who gave you this card and for what reason?"

    Rick was really puzzled, he couldn''t understand how this card ended up in Dante''s hands.

    Furthermore, he had to ask so that he could report his findings to the higher ups later.

    Dante was a bit displeased with Rick''s question but he still replied.

    "It was given to me by Young Master Theodore, I travelled with his caravan for a few days and fought with them against a battalion of hobgoblins

    He gave me this recommendation card as a token of his appreciation."

    Rick racked his mind trying to find the name of a 2-star merchant who matched Dante''s description but to no avail.

    Just as he was about to question Dante again, someone interjected.

    "Do you mean Young Master Theodore, the son of the 2 star Merchant Vince?

    You should have arrived at Winterlake city with them two days ago, am I right?"

    Morty had been listening to their exchange all along as he didn''t have anything to do, when he heard the name "Theodore" he recalled a piece of information he read an hour ago.

    It was about the return of a caravan led by a 2 star Merchant, it also said that they had stopped to resupply at Winterlake city and to recover from a difficult battle they had with a battalion of hobgoblins.

    Dante was astonished by the speed at which the news spread, the caravan had only arrived yesterday...

    However, his astonishment was quickly replaced by impatience as he wanted to finish his business in a short time.

    "Yes exactly, can you give me a price now?"

    As he said that Dante took out a spatial pouch with 80 Life Cores at the Soldier level and placed it on the counter.

    Rick didn''t dare to delay anymore as he did a quick scan of the items, but hewas leftagape by the number of Life Cores.

    What the fuck, eighty Life Cores? That''s at least 3000 gold coins!

    Rick thought that he would only be able to do small business with Dante, not in the least did he expect such a big deal.

    Even Morty was looking at him with envy.

    A Merchant ability was related to how much money could he make, it was the greatest of honours for them to make big deals.

    Rick only felt it was a pity that he couldn''t swindle him a bit...

    "Sir, I can offer you 3500 gold coins. The price isn''t negotiable, you can trust me as I wouldn''t dare insult the name of a 2 star Merchant."

    Dante was pleased by Rick''s offer but he didn''t take the money as he had other business with them.

    "I heard that the Merchant Guild is a place where one could trade fairly, I wish to buy some resources useful for breaking through to Commander level."

    Rick was even more pleased as he would be able to make some actual money this way.

    "Sir we actually have an Iron-Blood fruit from the Aderlate continent in stock, it''s considered as one of the top quality treasures to breakthrough to Commander level.

    I can give it to you for 1000 gold coins.

    If you combine it with some Crow-fire pills you would be able to breakthrough immediately without any problems.

    I can give you a bottle of Crow-fire pills and the Iron-Blood fruit at the reasonable price of 2000 gold coins."

    Dante felt the tea fragrance become bitter at that moment, cultivation really meant burning money as if it was cheap wood...

    With a dry voice, Dante said.

    "Ok, I accept. Put everything in this spatial ring."

    Rick quickly gave some orders to a nearby servant who after a couple of minutes returned with two medicineboxes.

    The two boxes were made of a special wood whichpreserved medicinal effects, their value alone was several gold coins.

    "Sir, take those two boxes as a gift of the Merchant Guild. We hope to do business with you again in the future!"

    Waving at Dante, Rick felt that he shouldn''t judge people from their actions anymore.

    However, that thought only lasted for a moment as he returned to his previous self.

    Morty also watched as Dante headed off to the ground floor and he felt that this big customer was actually a bit dejected.

 Ch. 20: Dream and Roxelane

    "Dante! Follow me, there is something we have to discuss."

    Dante had performed brilliantly in the Dungeon''s rookie tournament as he managed to enter the top ten with much effort.

    Now even the General wanted to talk to him!

    However, something felt off to him as the General only called him without saying anything to the other rankers.

    Nonetheless, he still followed after with an excited smile on his face.

    That was the best day of his life! He could finally see a ray of hope after many tribulations.

    "Excuse me General, but where are we going?"

    Dante had a bad premonition, he thought that they were going to the Armory to take the rewards for the rankers but it didn''t seem so.

    They were going to the Infirmary.

    "You will know soon..."

    The complicated look on the General''s face grew heavier as they neared the Infirmary.

    They were about to knock on the door when a grey-haired elf with a scar on his face welcomed them.

    The moment he saw Dante a look of understanding appeared on the elf''s face.

    "Greetings General! You should be Dante the one who ranked 4th in the tournament, come in, come in.

    I''m doctor Howl, I had the General look for you because of a really important matter."

    After welcoming them the doctor''s face turned grave.

    Dante took a sit, but seeing that the other two didn''t he was about to stand up again.

    However just as he was going to stand up, the doctor told him something which shocked him to the core.

    "Dante you should remember that before the tournament every rookie had to go through a totalcheck-up.

    You don''t have to worry, your health is perfectly fine as you don''t have any diseases.

    However, there''s something very important I have to tell you.

    Dante, you have a special physique, in a normal case that would have been a blessing but the ''Degenerated Poison Body'' that you have is actually one of those exceptions."

    The doctor stopped for a moment to make sure that Dante understood everything.

    Dante went on a rollercoaster of emotions, he felt anxious then relieved then anxious again.

    However this time his anxiety wasfollowed by a deep sense of foreboding.

    Dante didn''t say anything as he was too focused on the doctor''s words.

    "Due to your special physique you will forever remain at the soldier level without any hope of breaking through to Lieutenant level, Dante you have to stay strong I know that you were regarded as a genius before and it will be difficult for you... However, you have to not let this affect you... Dante, are you hearing me? Dante!"

    ...

    Waking up, Dante was covered in sweat but he quickly calmed himself as it wasn''t the first time this happened.

    "That dream again... Even now that I have the Death Mark and I''m about to breakthrough to Commander level... I still let it affect me."

    It was the first time Dante slept in a year, he thought that it would be good to sleep after so many things happened in the last days.

    Many cultivators chose to meditate instead of sleeping as it was far better for their cultivation and they would still be able to maintain their peak mental states, Dante didn''t meditate for his cultivation, but as a form of stubbornness.

    Cultivators rarely had dreams and it was even stranger for them to dream the same thing again and again, many times it was a sign of the presence of a heart demon.

    "Now that I''ve already woken up I should begin my final preparations."

    After taking a shower and changing clothes, Dante went to the manager and told her to not let anyone disturb him for the next six hours.

    She agreed without asking anything, she had seen too many people and knew that everyone had his secrets.

    Locking the door, Dante took a deep breath before entering the inner-world.

    ...

    "Dante, you should be here to visit the Library, isn''t it?"

    The moment he arrived at the barren land, Rayleigh''s voice greeted him.

    His Master''s appearance was the same as always except for a strange looking hat on his head.

    "Master, what is that hat? Where did you find it?"

    Rayleigh was clearly pleased by Dante''s question as he answered with a broad smile.

    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident."This? hehe, it''s named ''Fez'' my disciple. Roxelane gifted me this wonderful hat when I visited her yesterday."

    Dante was even more confused now, who was this Roxelane?

    "Teacher, who are you talking about?"

    Rayleigh seemed annoyed by Dante''s question as he replied.

    "Boy, didn''t you enter the inner-world to meet her? Look, you don''t even know what you''re doing. You can''t meet her dressed this way! Look, I just managed to obtain some nice looking clothes. She will love them!

    Quick change your clothes or I won''t let you meet her."

    Dante was stunned by Rayleigh''s current state.

    "Has teacher gone mad?"

    He had come to the conclusion that this Roxelane should be the Librarian, but he still had the impression that there was something strange about this woman.

    He didn''t dare delay as he swiftly changed his clothes. Dante had the feeling that Rayleigh wouldexpel him from the inner-world if he angered him.

    "Look at this nice looking demon we have here, the galabeya she gave me really suits you.

    Now you can to the Library, remember to be nice to her or you won''t be able to regret your life choices..."

    Rayleigh wore a satisfied smile on his face, he was clearly happy with Dante''s clothing but that final threat made the smile look a bit creepy.

    "Yes, Teacher..."

    Dante was speechless, it was the first time something like this happened. His previously calm and collected teacher now looked like a dad threatening his daughter''s boyfriend...

    As he couldn''t make head nor tail of the situation, Dante decided to look at his current outfit before going to the Library.

    It looked like a robe but it had no collar and had wider sleeves, it was purple in colour with five golden bats sewn on it.

    "Master what are those strange looking werebeasts and why are they sewn on the... How did you call it? Ah, galabeya?"

    Rayleigh seemed to forget his previous self as he replied with a puzzled look.

    "I don''t really know, she only told me that they are known as bats and they symbolize some pretty good things which are longevity, wealth, health, love of virtue and peaceful death.

    Roxelane told me that where she comes from mortals always sought these things, but I dare say that these are the things that almost everyone seeks."

    Dante revealed a look of understanding, even he desired these things. What was the meaning of cultivation? In the end, everyone did it for their own sake, to improve their lives and of those around them.

    Dante felt like he had been enlightened by his teacher''s words as he quickly thanked him before heading off to the Library.

    ...

    "I''m finally here... The Library is really my last resort. if I don''t manage to find anything about bloodline manifestation I will really have to leave everything to Lady Luck."

    When someone enters a Library he wouldexpect towering shelves full of many types of books with a thick scent of paper in the air.

    However, to Dante''s bewilderment, none of this could be found in this Library.

    From outside the Library was grand and majestic, anyone who looked at it would think that the books it held numbered in the thousands, no one would dare imagine such a scene upon entering.

    There were only two shelves and even these two were absolutely empty, Dante even touched them with his hands to make sure that he wasn''t seeing things.

    Furthermore, the "Library" looked more like a room than anything else, was there some sort of scheme against him?

    "I finally get to see the new owner of the Death Mark, what a surprise..."

    A sweet and gentle voice travelled to Dante''s ears as he turned around to look at the source of it, his mouth was left agape.

    Her appearance was stunning with a curvaceous body that couldn''t be hidden by the robe, but that wasn''t what left Dante speechless, it was her demeanour.

    The only time Dante felt the same thing from a woman was that time when the Imperial Consort of the Demon Emperor visited the Dungeon.

    Royalty, that was the only way to describe it. The aura of someone who findsleading countries as natural as breathing.

    Dantewas roused from his reverie only by Roxanne''s next words.

    "I would have never expected that a little Lieutenant level like you had something I couldn''t see through... Impressive, even your predecessors weren''t able to hide anything from me..."

 Ch. 21: The Limits of Bloodline Manifestation

    "You don''t know what I''m talking about... I''m referring to that strange substance flowing in your body.

    What do you know about it?"

    Dante didn''t know what to say, he had come to the Library hoping to find a way to solve the issue with his bloodline ability...

    Not only didn''t he find anything but the ''Librarian'' was the one questioning him, he felt that there was something deeply wrong about it.

    After a while, Dante came to the conclusion that she was talking about the poison in his body.

    "Senior, could you be referring to the poison secreted by my ''Degenerated Poison Body''?"

    Roxelane looked even more perplexed than before as she replied.

    "I would really like to know which incompetent fool gave you this diagnosis, even the lowliest of Medicine Masters can tell that you don''t possess such a physique."

    Dante was speechless, Medicine Masters?

    Why did she treat them as commoners?

    Medicine Masters were those incredible figures which managed to fuse the path of Poison Master and that of Physicians, they were supreme figures which were revered by everyone.

    Dante felt disoriented but he still replied.

    "It was the Dungeon''s doctor..."

    Roxelane was stunned as she replied.

    "Someone who didn''t even pass the Physician Guild examination...

    We can put a stop to this conversation then... I don''t see any reason to explain things that you have never heard of before. When you raise your status and pass the examination for a couple of occupations, you can return."

    What the fuck?

    I still have something to ask!

    Dante didn''t know what to do anymore, this Librarian was too strange.

    What kind of requirements were those?

    Seeing that Roxelane was about to leave, Dante quickly said what he wanted.

    "Wait, I have come to visit you for a very important reason! I''m about to breakthrough to Commander level and because I was adopted I couldn''t do any research on my ancestors... Are there any books which can help me?"

    Roxelaneturned around and sat on a chairas she said.

    "So our little... Mmm, it should be Dante, isn''t it? Your Teacher told me your name. Yes, so our little Dante is about to breakthrough without having an inkling of his future path.

    Well, I can''t give you a complete research on your ancestor nor can I predict which abilities will you awaken, that would require extremelydeep comprehension of the Laws of Karma...

    What I can give you is knowledge that should be as much as valuable for you."

    Dante didn''t expect his wordsto work, Roxelane even wanted to teach him valuable knowledge now!

    However, the Librarian''s next wordsfroze him.

    "As someone once said knowledge is power, so I can''t teach you something so valuable so easily...

    What about giving me 4000 Merit Points as a token of your appreciation?"

    Roxelane had a bashful smile on her face that made her look very cute, but in the eyes of Dante she seemed like a demonic goddess.

    It has to be said that after killing all those hobgoblins he only got a bit over 4000 Merit Points, and that was because the hobgoblin Shaman with the golden bell had killed many of his close ones to keep that bell for himself.

    Just that Shaman alone got him 1500 Merit Points.

    To Dante what Roxelane was asking him was no different from robbing him of everything!

    However, he wasn''t in a position to negotiate, with his lowly status as ''Student'' he could only endure.

    With some reluctance he still paid the number of points, in the end, that sort of knowledge about Bloodline Manifestation would really help him as it wasn''t something available to everyone in the Five Continents.

    The moment he gave her the Merit Points a shiny ball of light came out of his forehead and entered Roxelane''s forehead.

    After a moment of thinking, Roxelane began her teaching session.

    "Let''s begin by saying that all research done on the Bloodline Manifestation abilities of the Demon Race has been doneby searching the limits of Bloodline Manifestation itself.

    After centuries of research, the common view is that there are three limiting factors which deeply affect what bloodline ability you will manifest."

    Roxelane took a brief break to let Dante fully understand what she was saying, then she carried on.

    "The first and easiest to understand is the race limitation. As everyone knows reproduction between members of different races is possible so almost no one can be sure to have an absolutely pure bloodline, except for those Royal Bloodlines that is.

    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.For example, a demon who has a draconian amongst his ancestors can''t manifest this ancestor''s bloodline ability because their ''essence'' is different.

    You will understand the meaning of ''essence'' in the future."

    Dante intuitively knew this point as it would be too overpowered if someone could manifest the bloodline abilities of any of his ancestors.

    "The second and most important is the ''vessel''. It''s like a cup which can hold only so much water, as your cultivation advances that cup will become bigger and it will be able to accommodate more bloodline abilities and of a higher quality.

    Bloodline abilities have inherent differences in power, but everyone knows that at the end of the day it''s how you use them that matters.

    A sturdy path isn''t made of many overpowered abilities but by the clever combination of normal ones, I will explain why in the next point."

    This was something Dante never heard about, but he quickly understood the concepts.

    "The third and last factor is the ''Will''. This is actually the most mysterious and unpredictable factor of the three. It''s been proven that your character and willpower play a really important role in the manifestation of overpowered abilities.

    It seems like the most powerful bloodline abilities have a tiny bit of the ancestor''s will and they won''t manifest unless they find an inheritor which carries a will similar to that ancestor.

    That''s why it''s virtually impossible for someone to have a bloodline path made only of overpowered abilities.

    I have finished my teaching session, you can now go and breakthrough to Commander level maybe you will be able to pick the interest of one of those powerful ancestor''s wills."

    Dante was stunned he would have never expected such a requirement...

    How much knowledge of this sort was hidden to the masses?

    It was extremely difficult for those without a background to rise to the top when information was so restricted.

    "Thanks, Librarian, my horizons have beenbroadenedthanks to your lecture!"

    Roxelane was clearly pleased by Dante''s words as she replied while looking at his clothes.

    "Call me Roxelane, it''s good to have a junior who has some pretty good taste for clothing.

    If only everyone was like you..."

    She seemed to have remembered some bad memories as she stood up and stomped her feet before leaving.

    Dante shook his head as he also left the Library, before leaving the inner-world he chatted with Rayleigh for some time.

    It was time for him to breakthrough.

    ...

    After leaving the inner-world Dante went to the manager and told her that he would go out and it would take himat most a week to return

    He decided to tell her as to avoid any commotions while he was out in the wilderness.

    It was noon when Dante left Winterlake city but by the time he arrived at the demonic cave it was already evening.

    Joseph had given him a copy of the map which his grandfather had made, the cave wasin a jungle a 100 km away from Winterlake city. It wasn''t that far away, but the numerous Commander level werebeasts had given him a headache as he had to walk slowly and stealthy.

    Even after doing all he could to not attract those werebeasts attention, he still got into a fight with a couple Commander level ones.

    He used the chance to test the prowess of the dagger he got from the Death Mark and he wasn''t disappointed.

    The wounds dealt by the dagger would frost over and slow the werebeast''s movements which made it easy play for Dante to kill them.

    "I shall name it Frost Dagger due to its freezing properties."

    Dante had finally arrived in front of the cave, he was a bit creeped out, the loud noises of the jungle had been replaced by an eerie silence. The ground was also strangely white in contrast with the greenery of the jungle.

    As he neared the entrance his boots made crunching noises which grew louder and louder.

    Looking carefullyhe noticed that what he thought were white pebbles were, in fact, bone fragments.

    "This is getting out of hand..."

    He thought of going back to Winterlake city but as he remembered Joseph words Dante managed to steady himself.

    Joseph''s grandpa had been at the Soldier level when he found this cave and nothing happened to him, thesoon to be Commanderlevel Dante would have nothing to fear even if there were any dangers.

    "I still can''t shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen...

    Fuck it, I''m already here I can''t just go back because of some bad feelings."

    And with that thought mind, Dante entered the cave.

 Ch. 22: Breakthrough and Legacy

    "Light!"

    The cave was so dark that even with Dante''s Lieutenant level eyesight, he could only see a few meters away, so he decided to cast a spell to brighten up his surroundings.

    However even after doing so he still couldn''t see the end of the cave.

    Contrary to Dante''s expectations the cave was actually a pretty warm and comfortable place and as Joseph said it had extremely rich mana which made it really suitable for breaking through.

    "Strange, I wonder why mana is gathering here..."

    While nearing the cave Dante could feel the mana in a radius of 5 km flowing in direction of this cave.

    "I feel a strange presence coming from this cave, I should leave quickly after breaking through."

    Taking out a red Meditation mat, Dante got himself a very good spot after casting a couple of times the ''Clean'' spell.

    "I should find some time to advance to the 2nd circle, with my 1st circle I can cast 2nd circle spells only thanks to my high connection with mana and even then it''s a bit strenous."

    After some thinking Dante decided to leave this matter for later.

    "Let''s begin with the Iron-Blood fruit, I will take the Crow-fire pills to aid my momentum. The bottle of pills I bought should be enough."

    Dante took out the Iron-Blood fruit from the medicine box, it shone with an alluring blood red lustre which tempted Dante into eating it whole.

    "Hehehe, if someone were to eat it whole his blood would be sucked out by the fruit and used as nourishment, unless he were at the General level.

    The correct way of consuming it is by drawing out its juice which contains all the medicinal powers of the fruit."

    Dante used his spiritual power to draw out all the juice, condesing it in a globe.

    After taking a deep breath Dante gulped it down.

    The moment it neared his dantian, the globe suddenly split up into countless particles which spread until they covered every inch of Dante''s body.

    After a few breaths the particles began absorbing Dante''s blood and spiritual power, if he didn''t do anything what would be left of him would be a dried up corpse with another Iron-blood fruit on it.

    "Now."

    Without wasting any time Dante gulped down 5 Crow-fire pills.

    The moment the pills dissolved into his dantian a reaction occured.

    The countless particles which had been absorbing everything suddenly went on fire.

    The blood and spiritual power they had absorbed were now condensed and showed signs of coalescing into a core.

    This process went on for eight hours, with Dante taking 5 pills every two hours.

    The mana in Dante''s surroundings was being greedily absorbed by him to replenish the loss of spiritual power.

    Normally that would have been dangerous as mana still had some impurities which needed to be purified by cultivators, but Dante was in a special situation were the Crow-fire pills were doing the job of burning all impurities.

    "What an excruciating pain... This is the reason that it''s called Iron-blood fruit..."

    If someone didn''t reach the Iron level of mental state he could only die under the pain brought by this fruit, that was why even if it was one of the top treasures for breaking through to Commander level it was relatively cheap compared to others.

    Before entering the Dungeon Dante''s Mental state was already at the Bronze level which is the lowest tiered one as commoners were at the White level.

    During those eight hours Dante''s blood and spiritual power were being condensed by the Crow-fire pills while the Iron-blood fruit would replenish his blood and strenghten his constitution by going through cycles of destruction and reconstruction.

    He could feel his bones'' density rise while his cells were filled with more and more life-force.

    After another hour Dante felt his condition stabilize, a large part of the medicinal powers of the Iron-blood fruit had been expended.

    "It''s time to finally breakthrough."

    Using the remainig medicinal power, Dante began to revolve his spiritual power through his meridians at a mad speed.

    "Condense!"

    With a shout, all of Dante''s Spiritual Power began condensing into a sphere.

    When breaking through to Lieutenant level one''s spiritual power would liquify granting a cultivator deep reserves of energy.

    The breakthrough to Commander level meant condensing all the spiritual power into a golden core which would become the essence of a cultivator.

    "Condense!!"

    With another shout half of Dante''s blood condensed into Blood Essence.

    The Blood essence slowly fused with the golden core which now became tinted with red.

    Dante was branding his golden core.

    Because he was too focused on the branding process Dante didn''t feel that strange substance in his body slowly dissolving in his blood.

    Before Dante began condensing his blood, the substance''s color had been grey and it was flowing calmly in Dante''s blood, inert.

    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.The moment in which Dante condensed his blood, the substance seemed to have been awakened from its slumber as it changed to a deep blue color and began dissolving in Dante''s blood.

    Even Dante''s previously scarlet Blood Essence slowly turned purple in color.

    "What is happening?"

    Dante was puzzled by this sudden change, never in his wildest imaginations had he thought that strange substance to do anything, so he didn''t even bother looking at it.

    He just carried on with the branding as he thought it was simply something he wasn''t aware of.

    As Dante kept fusing his Blood Essence with his Gold Core he felt his whole self going through a complete evolution.

    "Now I only need to manifest my Bloodline Ability..."

    Dante felt bittersweet, the breakthrough had been smooth and fast as the Merchant told him.

    Normally breaking through to the Commander level would require several days, sometimes even a week, but Dante did it in just nine hours!

    However now he would have to manifest his Bloodline Ability...

    "I hope it isn''t too bad."

    Just as Dante was preparing himself for the manifestation, something unexpected happened.

    A sixth of the deep blue substance had completely dissolved into Dante''s blood.

    A bang resounded through Dante''s head as he felt himself merge with his surroundings.

    "What the fuck!?"

    Dante''s consciousness grew larger and larger as it enveloped the cave and the jungle.

    He felt his mind go cold as his thinking speed grew faster and faster.

    A feeling of wholeness enveloped Dante as he saw and felt everything in a radius of 80 km.

    That amount of information would have been enough to make the head of a King level explode but Dante''s consciousness had already left his body.

    He saw an enormous five-horned python lying in the depth of the cave he was in, the pyton felt Dante''s gaze as it awoke from its slumber.

    "Interesting, the legacy of the Ender has found a worthy successor...

    I''m sowing karma by returning your counsciousness to your body, if you were to remain in that state your weak counsciousness would slowly dissipate in the world.

    I''m reaping karma by having you take care of my most promising descendant, after you manifest your bloodline ability I will have him follow you.

    I wonder which of those old monsters will leave his inheritance to you...

    Hehehe, this experience will become really useful for you when comprehending your Dao.

    We don''t have much time... The Outsiders have been moving in the shadows for centuries, you have to get stronger quickly boy!"

    Dante felt his consciousness being pushed back in all directions by a gentle force as he returned to his body.

    He savoured that feeling of wholeness as he etched the words of the python in his mind.

    "The ancient war..."

    However before he could think of anything, his consciousness was pulled in by his Purple Gold Core.

    ...

    "Where am I?"

    Dante was in a white space, around him were a multitude of flames of different colors.

    Some of them emanated a chilling presence, some were bigger than the others, but they all radiated an aura of absolute supremacy.

    Dante felt really comfortable in this space, it made him remember the long-forgotten feeling of his mother''s embrace.

    "Mom..."

    It was only a word but it contained all of Dante''s sorrow.

    After a long while he managed to calm himself as he began inspecting his surroundings.

    "What are those flames?"

    Dante had never heard of anyone being transported to another place to manifest his bloodline, much less seeing flames like those.

    Dante neared one of the fiery flames and noticed that it wouldn''t burn him no matter what he did.

    While he was testing what he could do Dante''s hand unintentionally touched the white flame.

    Suddenly the flames around Dante disappeared as the white space quickly changed.

    Dante was now in a valley, in front of him there was a young man with a pair of horns on his forehead.

    He was bare-chested and had a wild feeling to him, his unkempt silver hair were moving with the wind.

    After a while the young man spoke.

    "I know that my race has been destroyed, but I still want the Legacy of the Beastmen to survive...

    Accept this power on your quest to protect your loved ones.

    I hope you succeed where I have failed young hero..."

    A look of regret and sorrow briefly flashed on the young man''s face before being replaced by relief as if a burden too heavy for him had been lifted from his shoulders.

    The young man broke up into countless particles of light which were absorbed by Dante as a gentle wind blew on his face.

    He didn''t know why, but he found tears streaking down his face.

    The valley began dissipating as Dante found himself in that white space again.

    This time he had something more with him.

 Ch. 23: The Promise and The Commotion

    "Why are there less flames?"

    A third of the flames had disappeared from the white space without leaving any trace of their existence.

    "If I hadn''t looked carefully I would have thought it was just my impression..."

    Dante looked at the different flames in the white space for a long while before coming to a realization.

    "There is actually a pattern."

    Dante noticed that the flames could be divided into three major categories by looking at their colors.

    "There should be half green flames and half blue flames, if I take into account all the fiery red flames that disappeared it makes for three types of flames."

    Dante thought about it and understood that their colors should follow some kind of rule he didn''t know of.

    After a moment of thinking, Dante decided to reflect on that young horned man from before to find some clues.

    "Did I just choose a random flame? No... There was some sort of connection between us that had been calling me to go near it.

    What was the purpose of that silver haired man?

    He talked about the Legacy of the ''Beastmen'' race but I''ve never heard of it, the closest thing I can think about are the Werebeasts... Still, it makes sense as he said that his race had been destroyed.

    Then why did I feel so sad when he talked about it?"

    His mind was in turmoil but the lack of any clues forced him to leave this matter for another time.

    Dante decided to explore the white space carefully as he felt that there was something more to it.

    "Flames, flames everywhere... Will I forever be trapped here? Wait, what a strange flame!"

    As Dante explored the white space he found a strange purple flame the size of a fist.

    It was strange as it had a less imposing aura than others, looking at it Dante felt that a gust of wind would be enough to extinguish it.

    As Dante neared it he felt an extremely powerful connection form between them.

    As if in a trance Dante touched the flame.

    Then it happened.

    The white space twisted and deformed as Dante was transported in a starry sky.

    It was the first time Dante saw it so clearly.

    "It''s beautiful..."

    Underneath there were five majestic vortexes with the centermost one being the largest, they were emanating an aura of tremendous power.

    "You''re right, it''s amazing."

    Dante heard a voice inside his head and as he turned around, he saw him.

    It was like looking at the void and at the same time at the whole world.

    He had dark blue hair with purple eyes as deep as an abyss, Dante almost lost himself in them.

    "You have met Fenrir... That guy is the same as always even in death he can give me a headache... Well, I suppose it will be good for you growth."

    As he said that thePurple Eyed Demon had a look of reminiscence as he remembered things only he knew, sometimes a happy smile would appear on his face before being replaced by sadness or even anger.

    After a while, he seemed to notice Dante''s presence as he quickly said.

    "Ah, you have looked into my eyes... Fenrir also used to do that and I had to kick his ass every time to return him to reality, he really had a poor mental state..."

    The Purple-Eyed Demon lifted his finger and touched Dante''s forehead with it.

    The moment he did that, Dante snapped out of his reverie while the Purple-Eyed Demon broke up into countless particles of light.

    "The day you feel that you''re ready, come and find me in the Central Continent, I will be on the lowest floor of the Hell Dungeon.

    That day I will clear all your doubts."

    With those words the starry sky shattered.

    This time Dante didn''t return to the white space.

    ...

    "The little demon''s soul has disappeared for too long... What kind of Bloodline Ability has he inherited?"

    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    The giant python had been watching over Dante since he went to the white space, in the end, his most promising descendant would have to follow that demon.

    He couldn''t let any harm befall Dante now.

    "It seems like he''s finished..."

    The giant python had long ago sent a mental message to his descendant so that he would arrive soon.

    He was just about to return to his slumber when something unexpected happened.

    A pillar of light rose to the heavens!

    The ground began to shake as a commotion broke up among the Werebeasts.

    The blue sky disappeared as it revealed the starry sky beyond it!

    "Not good, this will surely attract the attention of those old monsters like me...

    He''s just at the Commander level but can already release an aura which makes me feel threatened... The Ender was really a freak."

    The giant python felt a deep sense of danger coming from that azure pillar.

    ...

    Winterlake city, in an underground palace.

    An old man was meditating in a dark chamber.

    The floor was filled with countless sword''s scars.

    The moment the light pillar shot in the sky, the old man opened his eyes.

    In that same instant, countless sword lights shot up from the scarred floor lighting up the dark chamber.

    "What a great disturbance...

    Was it caused by the appearance of a treasure?

    Or is some great powerhouse breaking through to King level?

    No matter what I have to look into this matter as this area is under my jurisdiction."

    However just as he was about to move the sword lights which had been restless a moment ago, suddenly turned motionless.

    The old man''s face turned dark as he said.

    "WHO IS IT? WHO DARES TO INSULT ME?"

    For a sword cultivator, losing control of one''s sword essence was a great offence.

    Even if the other party was more powerful than him, he would still do everything he could to make him pay for it.

    The sword lights quickly gathered to form a face.

    If Dante was here he would recognize immediately that face.

    He was the Purple Eyed Demon!

    The old man was terrified when he saw that face.

    His previous arrogance and anger had completely disappeared as he didn''t dare breathe.

    "Oh little Cang, can you do me a favour? Do everything you can to stop everyone from going to that pillar of light.

    Just say that you were executing one of your new flashy techniques.

    I trust that you won''t dare slack off."

    ''Little Cang'' could only nod repeatedly as he was too scared to answer.

    It would be too easy for that demon to kill him if he wanted.

    Seeing that ''Little Cang'' knew what to do the demon''s face dissolved into sword lights again.

    The old man remained silent for a few minutes before he summoned his King level subordinates.

    Still shaken by what happened he quickly ordered.

    "I want Winterlake city in a complete lockdown, I don''t care. Do everything you can, no one can get out of the city alive.

    I want three of you to go near that pillar of light and make sure that no one gets in a radius of twenty km from it.

    None of you can try and see what is that pillar of light.

    If the higher-ups ask, say that I had an epiphany and made a breakthrough in my technique which caused a natural phenomenon to appear.

    I will personally kill those who dare defy my orders!

    Now go."

    The King level powerhouses had never seen the Emperor so flustered, they didn''t dare delay as they quickly closed off WInterlake city and followed every order to the letter.

    When a commotion broke up in the city because of a General level, one of the King levels personally appeared and killed him.

    No one dared to defy their orders after that.

 Ch. 24: Rebirth and Sneak Attack

    Inside the pillar of light Dante''s body was being reconstructed from head to toe.

    Even with Dante''s Iron level mental state, he still couldn''t endure that tearing pain, after screaming at the top of his lungs for a few minutes he passed out.

    Dante''s black hair turned light purple while his previously skinny body turned bulkier.

    His light red skin became light gold while silver tattoos began spreading on his chest.

    The tattoos depicted a Dragon and an Orc fighting together, but it seemed to beincomplete.

    Another Orb began forming in the second orbit of the purple flaming skull.

    This Orb was deep blue in color which seemed to contrast with the scarlet red Orb in the other orbit.

    However that feeling of contrast slowly disappeared as the second Orb completely formed, the two Orbs now gave a feeling of wholeness.

    The pillar of light slowly condensed into a cocoon with Dante at its center.

    The energy nurtured his soul and attuned his body to the new bloodline abilities.

    Slowly an aura of power began to spread from the cocoon.

    It grew mightier and mightier until even the Giant Python and the three King level powerhouses felt a chill run down their spines.

    All the Werebeasts in the forest had long since knelt down in direction of the cocoon as if they had met their emperor.

    The Giant Python and the three King level powerhouses, sent by the old man, felt their blood slow down as the aura of power reached a peak.

    "This commotion... Fenrir did you leave your Race Ability to him?

    In the end you have found peace my old friend..."

    The Giant Python sighed ashe reminisced about his first meeting with his friend.

    Right after it reached a peak, the aura of power disappeared.

    It was a declaration, the glory of an entire race would show itself again in the future!

    Howls rang in the jungle as the werebeasts welcomed the birth of their new Emperor.

    ...

    ...

    Three days later Dante woke up in the cocoon.

    "How long have I been out?

    Dante didn''t know how he ended up like this,the most urgent thing to do was to get out of the strange cocoon he was in.

    With a ripping sound the cocoon revealed the naked body of Dante.

    "My clothes were destroyed... At least I brought some in my spatial ring."

    With a thought a spatial ring appeared in Dante''s hands from the inner-world.

    He quickly dressed himself as he began examining his body.

    "What a complete transformation... It''s almost as if I have experienced rebirth."

    His body went through a massive change after the bloodline manifestation, he could feel boundless strength welling up inside his body.

    "My eyes... I feel like the world has become clearer now.

    This calmness... It''s almost as if my soul has merged with the world."

    Dante decided to test his new strength as soon as he could, but before that he decided to look around him.

    "What the fuck!?"

    The cave was far brighter than before and as Dante looked for the source of the light he was stunned.

    The cave''s ceiling had been blasted open by a terrifying force.

    "Amazing!"

    Dante knew that the pillar of light from before was something incredible but now he was even more sure of that.

    To blast open two hundred meters of rock so easily...

    What kind of force was required to do that?

    Dante looked at the depths of the cave before bowing in direction of the Giant Python.

    "Thanks, if Senior hadn''t helped before this junior wouldn''t have survived.

    Junior will remember forever Senior''s grace."

    After a while Dante heard a mental message.

    "Hahaha you''re respectful ofyour elders, good, good.

    Just watch over my descendant and it will count as repaying your debt."

    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    Dante bowed deeply again before saying.

    "I will take care of him."

    The Giant Python was satisfied by Dante''s response as it didn''t say anything and returned to its slumber.

    Dante got out of the cave and waited for the Giant Python''s descendant to arrive.

    "Mmm I should test my improvement after the breakthrough and see what kind of bloodline ability I manifested."

    After searching for a bit he found ahill madeof Black Iron which would serve the purpose.

    "Soldier levels can cutboulders made of Black Iron with a punch.

    Lieutenant levels can break a hill made of Black Iron.

    Commander levels can pulverize hills.

    General levels can vaporize hills."

    Black Iron was a strange metal commonly found in nature which was used as a test for those under the King level.

    A commoner wouldn''t be able to cut it no matter how much effort he put into it.

    Soldier levels would only be able to cut it into two halves as their strength would be dissipated quickly by the boulder.

    Commander level could propagate their strength through the whole hill and pulverize it, but they wouldn''t be able to do anything else.

    General levels who had finally touched the realm of laws and began their research their own Dao could finally vaporize it.

    "Let''s see how much did I improve... From what I see I should have manifested a strength related bloodline ability which isn''t too shabby."

    Holding only a bit of expectations, Dante threw a punch with all of his power.

    "BOOOOOOOM"

    Dante''s fist easily drilled through the hill made of Black Iron before it exploded loudly, Dante was thrown far away by the powerful explosion

    Hemanaged to stop himself only after destroying a dozen of trees.

    Dante looked worriedly at his smoking right arm.

    "I hope it didn''t break..."

    But as the smoke dissipated he only found a small injury which was healing at a visible rate.

    "This is too overpowered an explosion like that only left me with a little injury... And what about this recovery rate?"

    Even General level Monsters didn''t heal at this rate.

    "Could this be the effect of the Legacy of the Beastmen?

    How could such a powerful race end up being destroyed if they had such overpowered abilities?"

    However that question was quickly replaced by another, far more important, one.

    "Wait, the Legacy of the Beastmen... The Beastmen race... No, this should be impossible!"

    He still remembered Roxelane''s words, it was only possibleto manifest a bloodline abilityfrom one of his Demon ancestors...

    Then how did he manifest the bloodline ability of the Beastmen?

    However he didn''t have the opportunity to think about it as he sensed someone sneak attacking him.

    Dante quickly jumped away as a shadow hit his previous position.

    Dust rose in the air as the ground broke due to the sheer force of that blow.

    "Impressive, had my reaction been slower and I would have been in a bad situation..."

    Dante couldn''t see his opponent due to the dust that had covered the place, but he still heard the arrogant words of the assailant.

    "Good, as expected of someone recommended by the Patriarch! Let''s see if you''re qualified to have me follow you...

    My name is Basil let''s have a quick battle!"

    After saying that a powerful aura made the dust cloud settle, Dante finally saw his opponent.

    At Commander level Werebeasts could take human form and this Basil had already attained that level.

    He was clad in animal pelts and looked like a wild barbarian.

    His unkempt and long golden hair blew with the wind revealing his violet eyes.

    "You really look like a savage..."

    "Are you trying to make me lose my temper? Those cheap tricks don''t work with me!"

    Basil took out a greatsword as his muscles began expanding.

    In less than 10 seconds his size had doubled.

    "Let''s begin."

 Ch. 25: Basil and Ambition

    Dante readied his Frost Dagger while carefully observing his opponent.

    As his concentration reached a peak a change happened to his eyes.

    His previously brown eyes gradually turned blue, while a freezing coldness began to spread from him.

    At that moment Dante saw everything.

    He could see the blood-flow in Basil''s veins, the path his spiritual power followed and even his Golden Core.

    Dante''s mind felt like it had been immersed in ice-cold water as he became calmer and calmer.

    The world seemed to become slower as Dante''s reaction speed changed.

    Basil felt a freezing presencecoming from Dante but he didn''t pay it too much attention as he raised his sword and dashed in his opponent''s direction.

    "Magnificent... Is this another bloodline ability? Nothing makes sense anymore..."

    Dante could predict Basil''s next move by looking at the flow of his spiritual energy, it was a chopat his left arm.

    Without even bothering to dodge it, Dante punched Basil''s right arm catching him off guard.

    "What the fuck!?"

    Basil tried to strike again with his numbed arm, butbefore he could reacthe was sent flying by a punch in his stomach.

    Pain coursed through his body as he screamed.

    Complete suppression!

    When he managed to get up his gaze was met by Dante''s cold eyes.

    Basil felt a cold shudder run through his spine, he felt that all his secret had been exposed under those cold eyes!

    His fighting will had disappeared as his body shrunk to its normal size.

    "What happened to your eyes?

    I only get this feeling when I see those powerful elders from the Clan..."

    Dante''s eyes turned to a light shade of azure asthe pressure disappeared.

    However, that cold presence remained.

    "Do you want to follow me or not?"

    Dante asked with a bit of impatience, he had lost too much time and had to return to the city.

    He had already given up on understanding his bloodline abilities anytime soon, only time would reveal them.

    Basil seemed to remember the reason he had come here as he quickly nodded and reverted to his Beast form.

    He had golden skin with a crimson crown on his head which gave him an aura of dominance.

    Near his tail, there was a strange black mark which looked like a hydra

    As a python, Basil was nine meters long, a size which made Dante frown.

    Seeing Dante''s expression, Basil said.

    "I can shrink myself, look."

    In the blink of an eye, he had turned into a meter long python.

    Basil had returned to his Beast form because it was still his most comfortable one, which could display all of his power.

    He didn''t go all out in this battle as he was just testing Dante, had it been a life and death battle it would have been far different.

    With a nod, Dante looked in Winterlake city''s direction as he said.

    "I''m going to Winterlake city now. Tomorrow I will go to the Assassin''s Guild to register, you won''t live a peaceful life by my side.

    Do you still want to follow me?"

    The python gave an angry hiss before slithering at a fast speed towards Winterlake city.

    Dante gave a light smile as he caught up with Basil.

    ...

    "Stop."

    They were about to leave the jungle when Dante felt a powerful presence ahead of them.

    As his gaze locked on the horizon, Dante''s eyes turned a deep blue as his horizon expanded.

    He could see three figures floating in the air radiating auras of extreme power.

    Dante didn''t dare look at them for more than a second as he fearedcatching their attention.

    "Dante, why have we stopped?"

    Basil could feel Dante''s uneasiness so he sent him a mentalmessage.

    At the Commander level, one could convey his thoughts through spiritual energy.

    They had chatted with each other along the way and could be said to be friends now.

    "I feel three extremely powerful auras ten km from here.They should be here due to the commotion brought by that pillar of light."

    Dante didn''t say that he was able to see them as it was too abnormal for someone at the early stage of the Commander level to see that far.

    Even Pan, the mercenary leader he had travelled with, could only see up to6 km with his cultivation of half a step General level.

    Basil hissed as he remembered something.

    After a while he sent another mental message.

    "The reason why it took me so long to arrive was exactly because of those three, I had to take a detour only known by those of my clan to avoid them...

    After seeing that the other werebeastsweren''t killed by them as they entered the jungle, I decided to follow them and enter the jungle.

    Dante, you can enter my inner-world as I''m already at the late stage Commander level, if you enter it they won''t sense your presence."

    Dante felt all his worries disappear as he heard Basil''s proposal, it was a simple and easy way to fool those King levels!

    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.Without wasting any time Basil let Dante enter his inner-world, as he kept slithering towards Winterlake city.

    ...

    "Marcus are you sure that we should let those Commander level werebeasts do as they please?"

    One of the King levels sent on guard voiced his doubt about the matter.

    At Commander level one formed a basic inner-world while at the late stage of the Commander level one could put living things in it.

    If there really was a heavenly treasure wouldn''t it be easy for those werebeasts to take it?

    "Calm down Ronald, the Emperor told us that there is no heavenly treasure. And even if there was, do you think that the puny inner-world of a Commander level could hold it?

    The Emperor told us that a Senior with top-level status was breaking through here, we only have to stand guard and wait until he reveals his presence to us.

    If we can make a connection with him, our chances of survival in the next Doom War will surely increase!"

    Ronald had been enlightened by Marcus'' words as a look of understanding appeared on his face.

    After a long silence, Ronald decided to talk about something else.

    "A while ago did you feel as if someone was looking at you from far away?"

    Marcus nodded before saying.

    "Yes I felt a cold gaze lock on me, but it lasted for only a second. It should be that Giant Python slumbering in the jungle, that pillar of light surely woke him up... That cold gaze meant that we can''t cross the line. At the end of the day this is still his territory.

    We were only allowed to buildWinterlake city because of that..."

    Ronald listened carefully to what Marcus was saying, but he couldn''t help interrupt him when he saw something incredible.

    "Marcus look at that python! He should at least be a Superior Species! If we manage to tame it... No even just by selling it we would make a fortune!"

    Hearing his friend''s words, Marcus'' face fell as he almost cursed Ronald. Just when he was about to yell at him, their companion who had been silent until now spoke with a freezing voice.

    "Ronald if you want to end up as an appetizer for the Giant Python you can go ahead and try to capture him.

    I won''t stop you, I know that you will make the right choice."

    Ronald''s face grew horrified as he understood the meaning behind those words.

    "He''s a descendant of that Old Beast... And from the looks of it, he should be one of the most cared geniuses of his generation.

    I was really courting death just now..."

    Ronald didn''t dare say anything anymore as he just looked at the horizon, shuddering as he thought about his previous words.

    None of them would have ever thought that the ''Senior with top-level status'' was sneaking away under their noses.

    ...

    "Dante I''m going to take you out, we can finally relax."

    Basil had already arrived near Winterlake city, after looking at the bustling city for a brief moment he decided to notify Dante of their arrival as he returned to his human form.

    With a thought Dante appeared near Basil, a weird look could be seen on his face.

    Seeing Dante''s face, Basil couldn''t help but ask.

    "What is it? Do you feel bad or something?"

    Dante still had a weirded out face as he said.

    "Why is your inner-world filled with holes?"

    This time it was Basil who made a weird face as if Dante''s question was the lamest he had ever heard.

    "Don''t you have a need to dig a good lair in the earth sometime?"

    "..."

    Dante didn''t know what to say anymore, the atmosphere got weirder and weirder.

    In the end, Dante broke the silence by saying.

    "Let''s forget about this conversation... Do you have enough money for a long stay in Winterlake city?

    I''m not planning to leave the city anytime soon as I have some pretty important things to do.

    This city will be our base of operations for the next few years if everything goes by plan.

    If you don''t have money on you I can lend you some, but you will have to return it in the future."

    Basil had been pretty embarrassed about this matter as he didn''t have a cent on him, but hearing Dante''s proposal he quickly accepted.

    After thinking for a moment, Basil remembered something important as he quickly said.

    "Dante I actually have formed my own gang in Winterlake city in the last few years, they are a fairly small group but I think that with a little care they will be able to grow to a decent sized faction!"

    Dante thought about it and felt like they would really need the help of some henchmen during their stay.

    With a nod he said.

    "I think they will be of great use for us, in the end, we''re just two people... It will be easier for us to obtain information and attain status if we have a big group under us.

    With our Commander level strength, it will be easy to gather underlings."

    "Hahaha, we will be renown across the whole Five Continents!"

    Basil''s fighting spirit had been ignited, even Dante''s cold eyes warmed at the thought of marking his name in history.

    With the fires of ambition in their eyes, the duo headed towards the city.

    They didn''t know it, but their arrival would cause a storm far greater than anyone would have imagined.

 Ch. 26: Can you recognize yourself?

    This time Dante had to pay two gold coins, one each, to enter the city.

    The first time he entered he didn''t pay anything as he was with the caravan, Merchants were exempted from paying taxes due to their high status.

    As they entered the city, Dante noticed that it was quieter than usual.

    The noisy streets were less crowded while the vendors didn''t shout as loudly as before.

    "Strange... The city seems so tense, could something have happened while I was gone?"

    Dante decided to ask Basil about the matter, but he was also clueless about it.

    They decided to go ask one of the vendors, they would surely know something.

    Dante approached a fatty who sold antiques, as expected he found the man to be at the late stage of the Soldier level.

    No common person would be able to open a stall in Winterlake city.

    "How much are you asking for that pocket watch?"

    He approached the fatty under the pretext of buying something, Dante didn''t want to catch the attention of anyone with the city''s current state.

    The fatty was delighted to see a customer as he squinted his eyes before saying.

    "Customer has great eyes! This pocket watch was given to me by the widow of a General level. She told me that her husband always carried it in battle and it had saved his life many times.

    She would have never sold it if it wasn''t for the fact that she had lost everything after her husband''s enemies got their revenge by seizing all his assets.

    Customer should know that such an artefact is priceless but seeing your heroic aura, this fatty offers it at the low price of five gold coins!

    This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!"

    Dante sneered inside, what a crook! If someone inexperienced were to hear him he would probably fall for it.

    Dante made a sorry face as he said.

    "The heavens really want me to take a loss this time! I''m low on money now and can hardly afford to live in this city.

    What about this. I will give you a gold coin now and when I make some money I will give you the rest."

    The vendor understood Dante''s intentions. That pocket watch was at most worth fifty silver coins which were half a gold coin, this customer was paying for information.

    The fatty had years of experience and had already made this kind of transaction many times.

    With a smile on his face, the fatty said in a low voice.

    "Customer should be a traveller who wants to know about the city''s situation. You have made the right choice by asking me as I''m affiliated with the Crimson Wolf Gang.

    Our gangmainly deals with information and we are the best of our trade."

    The fatty took great pride in being part of that gang, it seemed like it was a fairly influential organization.

    However Dante''s expression didn''t change, with a bitter smile the fatty said.

    "Usually I chargetwo gold coins for this service. I''ll take just half of it because the information has been widely spread by the higher-ups...

    Three days ago a pillar of light rose to the heavenscausing a commotion to break out in the city, many leaders of several gangs and organizations made their move, everyone thought that a great treasure had appeared.

    However they were too late, the true rulers of the city personally intervened to calm the situation.

    They locked up the city and martial law was declared, a General level blinded by greed tried tosneak away, but was immediately killed by one of those King level rulers.

    That General level was the leader of Avaritia, one of the most powerful organizations of the Underworld, which mainly dealtwithdrugs and slaves."

    The fatty stopped his explanation to let the new information sink in.

    "The reason why Winterlake city is so tenseisn''tdue to the martial law as it was lifted two days ago.

    The real reason is that with the death of their leader, Avaritia has been greedily eyed by all the other organizations.

    In the end, Avaritia held a fifth of the drug market while it hosted a slave auction every year which resulted in tens of millions of gold coins entering their pockets.

    Such a fat sheep...

    However, the majority of the rumours say thatkey figures of Avaritia have already made contacts with different organizations and have already been absorbed by them."

    Dante nodded as he heard the info, he gave two gold coins to the vendor before goingto Basil''s side.

    The fatty thanked Dante and gave him a red card with his gang''s name on it.

    "When you need information you can use that card to obtain valuable information at a cheap price from my gang!"

    Dante put the card in his spatial ring before waving at the fatty.

    ...

    Dante decided to go to the inn first, to notify the manager of his return.

    Basil also needed an accomodation until they found a headquarter for their gang.

    They had decided that while Dante worked as an assassin, Basil would build the foundation for their gang.

    If there were any problems they would have a meeting to make a decision.

    "Here we are Basil, this is the inn I''ve been staying for a few days.

    I will pay you a week''s stay, it should be enough time to find a base for our gang.

    Remember the minimum requirements are having a cultivation of the intermediate stage Soldier level and some kind of skill that can be of use for us.

    We need to have our own information networkas we are going to stay here long term, after that we can talk about expansion and other things."

    "No worries, I should be able to do something about it in a month or so.

    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.The only problem is that we will surely attract the attention of those other gangs who are recruiting..."

    Dante thought about the issue for a moment before sending a mental message.

    It wasn''t wise to talk about these things in the midst of a crowd.

    "We should be able to deal with those little gangs, maybe we can even absorb them..."

    A ferocious glint flashed in Basil''s eyes as he understood what Dante was saying.

    They decided to leave this matter for another time as they entered the inn.

    When they opened the door, the sound of a bell rang out alerting the manager.

    "That bell wasn''t there when I left the inn..."

    Dante thought to himself as he mused at how he scared the manager the first time he entered.

    "Welcome customer, we have two free rooms available as one has been reserved by another customer.

    Do you want to have a look at them?"

    The manager was pretty happy, since she installed that doorbell she never got any scares from those yelling customers.

    The reason she bought that doorbell was because of the customer who paid 600 gold coins at once, she still remembered how her heart almost stopped due to his loud voice...

    She already had a weak mental state and that was too much for her!

    Dante frowned as he heard the words of the manager, he had already paid for six months of stay!

    What was happening?

    Still with a frown on his face, Dante said.

    "Manager, I''m that customer who paid for half a year''s stay a few days ago.

    Have you already forgotten me?"

    The manager''s face turned dark when she heard those words.

    Trying to scam me!?

    Dream on!

    She had already seen many customers try every possible trick to scam her, but this was the worst one she had ever seen.

    "Hahaha, you didn''t even try to look like him!

    What are those light purple hair? Even yourbuilddoesn''t resemblehis!

    Look even the color of your skin is different...

    What about those eyes? Can brown eyes suddenly turn blue?

    Are you taking me for a fool?"

    The manager was pretty angry at this point, even if her memory wasn''t exceptional she still vividly remembered those rich customers who came to her inn.

    If she couldn''t tell apart gold mines from beggars, she wouldn''t deserve her spot as a manager!

    Dante frowned even more, after a moment of silence he decided to ask for a mirror.

    The manager didn''t expect such a request, but as it was just a mirror she couldn''t make a fuss about it.

    After a minute a maid fetched a mirror for Dante.

    Dante''s face fell when he looked at his reflection.

    "Now I see why she doesn''t recognize me...

    Such a great change would leave anyone speechless."

    Even Dante couldn''t identify himself with the figure in the mirror.

    He already knew of the change to his skin color and hair, but those eyes...

    They had the same mysterious aura of the Purple Eyed Demon, but it was thousands of times weaker...

    Dante looked at the mirror for a long time before giving a long sigh.

    The problem now was how he could make the manager believe him.

    Basil looked at Dante with a bit of confusion as he asked him.

    "Dante, didn''t you always look like this?"

    Dante shook his head before sending a mental message.

    "Before breaking through to Commander level, I looked like a completely different person from now..."

    Basil was shocked by Dante''s answer, demons were known due to their bloodline abilities but it was common knowledge that they wouldn''t go through great changes when their abilities were at their early stages.

    With every breakthrough and epiphany, bloodline abilities would grow with their holder and change him.

    It was incredible for a demon to change so much in the early stages!

    What sort of bloodline ability did he manifest to cause such a change?

    Basil decided to not ask, it looked like even Dante didn''t know anything about it.

    "How do I make the manager believe me..."

    After a while Dante found a solution to his problem.

    Looking at the manager he found that she had been glaring at him all along. He tried to put a smile on his face as he said.

    "Manager have you already forgotten how I scared you when I entered the inn for the first time?

    There wasn''t a doorbell when I came, so you didn''t hear me entering and you almost lost the broom in your hand...

    The reason why I look so different is because I''ve broken through to Commander level and my bloodline abilty has manifested."

    The manager was surprised by Dante''s words, from his words she could see that that he really was that rich customer.

    However she still couldn''t believe him, after a brief moment sheremembered something important and decided to ask him about it.

    "I remember that when you entered you were wearing the Dungeon''s uniform, can you show me your ID?"

    At this point the manager didn''t want any problems, a Commander level dungeon soldier wasn''t to be trifled with, just showing his ID would be enough.

    Even if he really wasn''t Dante at this point she couldn''t do anything about it.

    Dante had been enlightened by the manager''s words, he quickly took out his ID from the spatial ring.

    "Here you are."

    The manager examined it for a moment before giving it back.

    IDs were issued by the Dungeon, if anyone dared to make fakes they would be quickly hunted down by an expert.

    The manager took a key and gave it to Dante.

    She looked at Basil and understood what they needed.

    "Your companion should be here for a room, I will charge you only two gold coins per day for it."

    She wanted to apologize for the inconvenient, a room

    Basil was happy with that, as agreed before Dante took out the gold coins for a week''s stay.

    "Have a comfortable stay in our inn customers!"

    Dante and Basil headed to the first floor, they wanted to prepare themselves for the next day.

 Ch. 27: Answers

    Basil and Dante were making the last preparations for their plan.

    "Take this pouch, there are 1000 gold coins in it. Don''t waste them, it will be your budget for the next months.

    I want to see at least a hundred members in our gang when I visit it, try to maintain conflicts with other gangs at a bare minimum without giving the impression ofbeing a pushover.

    In the end, we will still have to battle our way into the Underworld.

    With this card, you should be able to buy information at a cheap price, don''t offend any major powers."

    Basil nodded as he took the card, he already had some experience with these matters.

    What he found unexpected was that Dante also seemed to know some tricks, Basil decided to ask him about it.

    "Dante from what I understand you should be a Dungeon soldier, how do you know about these things?"

    Dante laughed darkly before saying.

    "Before entering the Dungeon I had been part of a gang...

    The aunt who had adopted me after my parents'' death left this world a few years later, leaving me alone at the age of thirteen.

    I had to fend for myself until I became fifteen, only at that age could I enter the Dungeon.

    A good brother of mine took me in his gang and we lived pretty well for a yearbefore he died in a war between gangs.

    We didn''t want to join that battle, it was under the pressure ofsomepowerful organizations that little gangs like ours had to take part in it."

    Sorrow could be seen on Dante''s face as he remembered those years, but it was replaced by resolution shortly after.

    "If there is something I understood from this experience is that we can''t take part in the drug trade, it''s too big for us.

    If you find any of the members dealing drugs, stop them immediately if they do it again kill them.

    If those powerful gangs were to discover that we are dealing drugs they would destroy us immediately and set us as an example."

    Basil''s face drained of all colour as he asked Dante.

    "How do you know that? We are just a little gang, they won''t bother with us, right?"

    Dante''s face became stern as he said.

    "You know why my gang was forced to take part in that war?

    I didn''t know at first, years later I found out that some of those little gangs like ours had tried to deal drugs...

    When that organization found out they sent emissaries to everyone and had them take part in a bloody war, to thin our numbers.

    When we got to the battlefield we were welcomed by the severed heads of the gangsters who didn''t know their place.

    It was a clear warning to the leaders... Do not deal with drugs.

    Now go and have a good rest, your room is the one next to mine.

    I''ll probably return at the end of the week as it seems like the Assassin''s Guild has some sort of training period."

    Basil shuddered when he heard this, he etched these words in hismemory.

    "I''m going to sleep, tomorrow I will go see the situation of my small gang and see if there is anyone of use to us."

    Closing the door behind him, Basil went to his room while saying those words.

    ...

    After a quick shower, Dante dressed and looked in the mirror.

    "Could this be one of the fabled Eye bloodlines?"

    Dante felt likehis eyes were the ones who had changed the most after his bloodline manifestation.

    After a long while, he said.

    "Two bloodline abilities...

    Could it be related to that strange substance?"

    Dante remembered what Roxelane told him and found it plausible.

    It was the only thing he had that she couldn''t see through.

    "Is it a blessing for me?

    Before it had been a disaster which had sealed my fate, now it has given me tremendous abilities..."

    Dante still remembered what happened when he tested his strength.

    "This body should be able to resist mortal grade blades..."

    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report itDante took out his Frost Dagger and began pressing it on his arm''s skin, he gradually raised his strength to his peak.

    "Incredible it only left a shallow wound, my muscles have become incredibly sturdy!"

    The Frost Dagger was a peak Mortal grade weapon, the fact that it could only leave shallow wounds meant that Dante''s body had become impervious to Mortal grade weapons!

    "What?!"

    Dante looked at his blood, it wasn''t red anymore but had turned purple and was as dense as mercury.

    He focused his eyes on a drop of blood, suddenly that blood drop was magnified by a few times while his eyes drained his spiritual power.

    Dante''s mental energy was being focused on the blood drop.

    "Is this my Eye ability? Incredible, this blood drop is filled with extremely dense life force!"

    As the blood drop kept being magnified by Dante''s eyes, he suddenly heard a roaring sound in his head as he coughed out a mouthful of blood.

    "What happened!?"

    At that moment he felt a powerful force repel his mental energy away, forbidding him from seeing more.

    He tried again a few times but he heard that enraged roar again and again.

    In the end, he could only stop as his spiritual power had already been halved by his eyes draining.

    "It wasn''t something physical, it was a roar directed to my mental energy dimension...

    Is there something dwelling in my blood?"

    Dante had too many doubts and questions without answers, as he kept thinking about them he remembered the words of the Purple-Eyed Demon.

    "The day you feel that you''re ready, come and find me in the Central Continent. I will be on the lowest floor of the Hell Dungeon.

    That day I will clear all your doubts."

    He thought about those words again and again, but they didn''t solve anything.

    They only added more confusion to the mess.

    "When I feel that I''m ready...

    Am I ready now?

    Obviously not."

    Dante asked himself what ''ready'' meant.

    "Was he talking about my cultivation?"

    He didn''t know, he couldn''t know, he was too weak.

    "Why was I spared when they came to kill my parents?

    They said that they had to kill anyone with their blood, am I not their son?

    What is that strange substance in my body?

    Who are those two I saw in that white space?

    Why?

    Why me?"

    Dante felt that only when he was powerful enough would he be able to know the answers to those questions.

    His clouded eyes cleared away as understanding downed on him.

    "It''s power, it''s always a question of power.

    How can I become powerful?

    With the Death Mark, I have some guarantee that I will eventually attain that power..."

    He would always remember the words that his predecessor wrote in the diary of truth.

    "Since the first owner of the Death Mark, the meaning behind the mark''s name has always been a difficult question.

    All owners have found their own answer at the end of their journey, but after reading their diaries I noticed that many have come to the same answers regardless of era, race or world.

    The Death Mark tempers its owners by making them grow on their dead predecessors.

    The strong isn''t the talented nor those extremely powerful cultivators, the true strong is the one who is capable enough to survive when others can''t.

    What are destiny, luck and power in the face of Death?

    With your current status, you still can''t see this clearly, but as your status rises it will become more evident."

    "With their help... Maybe one day I''ll be able to hear those answers."

    At that moment Dante felt the purple skull on his body burn as an eerie laughter rang in his head.

    "It seems like I can count on you."

    Dante didn''t know if the Death Mark had a consciousness, but at that time he felt like he could rely on it.

    With determination burning in his eyes he said.

    "Let''s begin."

 Ch. 28: The First Change

    Dante was sitting cross-legged on a meditation mat, in just half an hour he had finished drawing his magic circle.

    "It shouldn''t be this easy."

    He still remembered the difficulties he faced when drawing his 1st circle, but after thinking about it he understood.

    When he drew his 1st circle he was nowhere near his current level, making comparisons was pointless.

    "Predation has surely played a major role in this, but I think that my bloodline abilities have also something to do with it."

    When drawing magic circles, mental energy was essential as a single mistake could lead to the collapse of the circle and the loss of soul power used.

    A magic circle was the medium between the magician and the world, to build a magic circle magicians needed to use their own Soul Essence and spiritual power to build it.

    The Soul power in the magic circle created a connection between the world and the magician''s soul, magic circles could be said to be a bridge which harmonized the interaction between cultivators and the world.

    "Is this what it means to control nature? Hahaha, only 2nd circle and I''m already saying bullshit."

    While drawing his 2nd circle Dante felt the change that happened to his mental energy, it had grown by a few times and become purer after his breakthrough.

    "It should be the work of the Eye Bloodline... Well, I should find some books related to 2nd circle magic in the future."

    During the Dungeon training, Dante had only attended classes for 1st circle magic. He only knew some of the most common 2nd circle magics like ''Light'' thanks to one of his friends lending him some books

    Dante didn''t even think about buying anything from the Library in his inner-world,he would go bankrupt in less than a second...

    In one of his conversations with Rayleigh, his teacher told him that he should spend his points very wisely unless he wanted to end up like a beggar.

    "Buy from the Library only those things youwouldn''t be able tofind outside!"

    He decided to leave his magic circles alone as he focused on his Purple Gold Core.

    Since its formation Dante''sfelt his spiritual power rising at a fast speed as the Purple-Gold Core kept revolving in his dantian, purifying mana into spiritual power.

    That was until yesterday when the Core suddenly stopped revolving.

    "This is too fast, I broke through a few days ago and I''m already about to breakthrough to the middle-stage Commander level.

    If someone were to know about it he would say that my foundation is unstable, but my core isn''t showing any signs of cracking..."

    At the Commander level, it was all a question of accumulating spiritual power and using it to nurture the core in their Dantian.

    Many would remain at the Commander level for years as they slowly accumulated spiritual power in order to breakthrough to General level.

    However simple accumulation wasn''t enough to become a General level, an epiphany on their own path of understanding was needed to breakthrough.

    That epiphany was a wall that many couldn''t climb.

    "Guess I will just breakthrough now."

    Dante closed his eyes as he gathered all his spiritual power in another Core.

    This second core would then fuse with the one at the centre of Dante''s dantian, nurturing it.

    "Now I only have to fuse them."

    The second core gradually neared the Purple-Gold Core under Dante''s mental energy control.

    The moment the Purple-Gold Core absorbed the second core, something unexpected happened.

    Dante heard a faint roar come from the Purple-Gold Core.

    In his mental energy dimension, a seven coloured Dragon appeared, it was gazing at Dante with an aloof gaze.

    Near the Dragon there was an Orc wearing heavy armour with a battleaxe in his hands, the pressure he radiated was no less than that of the Dragon.

    Dante wasn''t the only one who heard that roar, Basil was meditating in that moment but a cold chill run through his spine as he woke up from his deep meditation.

    "What happened!?"

    That roar was faint, almost illusory... Basil thought that it had only been his imagination as he focused his mind again, he still felt uneasy.

    That night many experts in Winterlake city felt their blood boil as ifwasbeing called by something.

    As Dante looked at the two he didn''t feel any pressure from them only a sense of familiarity, almost as if they were a part of him.

    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.He tried to ask them who they were, but he found himself being unable to send any mental message even if it was his mental dimension.

    After a brief moment, the Dragon said a word.

    "Heir"

    It was said in a language he didn''t know, but Dante found that he could understand the meaning of that word clearly.

    No, it was better to say meanings.

    It was only a word but it conveyed many things.

    "Dragon words..."

    It was a language that required the use of enormous quantities of spiritual power to be spoken, only Dragons with their limitless spiritual power and extremely powerful cultivators could speak that language.

    "You''re testing me?"

    Dante was being tested, the Dragon wanted to see if he was worthy of them.

    He had many questions to ask them, but every time he tried he found himself unable to.

    In the end, the Orc and the Dragon disappeared from his mental energy dimension, Dante also left it.

    "Who are they? Why did they appear now? Is it due to the breakthrough?"

    It was only a long time later that Dante decided to leave the matter for another time.

    He was blazing with anger. It was a calm anger which couldn''t find any release.

    "Another question without answers..."

    After a while, he only managed to suppress his angerwhile bitterness could be seen on his face.

    His eyes were a bit colder now.

    "At least I can see some hope with the Death Mark."

    After the breakthrough, he meditated for another aura as he felt his body grow more powerful while his eye''s freezing aura became more evident.

    "Time to enter the inner-world"

    With a thought, he entered it.

    ...

    As Dante arrived, he was greeted by his teacher''s kind words.

    "I know that you are angered by your own powerlessness but that will change, don''t let it become your heart demon.

    I was also like you back in the days... I did everything I could to become powerful and wasn''t able to see what really mattered, I was blinded by my own thirst for power...

    It was only when I lost them one by one, that I understood how wrong I was...

    However it was too late even though I had attained the power I thirsted for, they weren''t there anymore.

    Don''t'' let it destroy you Dante, one day you will eventually know the answers."

    Dante didn''t expect Rayleigh to tell him about his story.

    Hearing his teacher''s words Dante''s previously clouded eyes gradually cleared away as they began releasing a piercing coldness.

    The sorrow in Rayleigh''s words grew even more as he saw Dante''s eyes.

    "You are also walking that path...

    I just hope that you don''t lose too much by the time you realize it..."

    These words were said in alow voice, as Dante heard them he shuddered for a moment as confusion briefly flashed in his eyes.

    However, it was only for a moment as that cold resolution reappeared, burying everything underneath it.

    Rayleigh shook his head, he knew that Dante has just gone through his first change of heart.

    That was his first true hurdle on his path as a cultivator.

    "Whether you follow my steps or not is up to you now."

    ...

    ...

    Dante had entered the inner-world for a reason this time.

    He wanted to challenge the previous owners of the Death Mark in the Colosseum.

    "I want to see how large of a gap is between us."

    He wanted to know the difference between him and the first ranked in the Colosseum.

    If he had a goal it would be easier for him to bridge that gap.

    "And maybe one day I will finally be worthy enough to know those answers..."

    Dante unconsciously clenched his fists as the fire of resolution began to burn in his cold blue eyes.

    After a few minutes, he finally arrived at the Colosseum.

    "Impressive!"

    The Colosseum was a hundred meters high and covered a surface of eight thousandsquare meters. Dante felt like an ant standing beside it.

    In front of the entrance of the Colosseum, there was an Arc de Triomphe, its height surpassed that of the Colosseum.

    On the arc, three names were carved in an inscription.

    1st rank: Dio

    2nd rank: Wang Lin

    3rd rank: Theodore

    The name of the first rank radiated an aura of hegemony which made Dante''s blood boil.

    He wanted to surpass him!

    "Someone should change those rankings..."

    Dante walked under the Arc de Triomphe his voice had a hint of arrogance in it.

 Ch. 29: Dio

    When Dante entered the Colosseum, he felt his consciousness being transported to another dimension as he passed through a thin barrier.

    There was a cheering crowd in that Colosseum while someone stood opposite to him.

    He had black hair and eyes, on his back, there were two swords one black the other white. When Dante looked at him he felt as if he were looking at a sword instead of a person.

    Dio looked at him with a grin on his face as he said.

    "I know what you are thinking, every single challenger asks me the same thing...

    We are in some sort of ''Virtual space'', don''t ask me more. It''s something from another world.

    I''m just a copy of my true self-made by the Death Markwhile you are only here with your consciousness.

    If you die you will only lose some of your mental energy, no big deal.

    From what that Theodore lad told me there should be something like 100% simulation here, which means that everything here is the same as in the real world."

    Dante readied his Frost Dagger after he heard Dio''s words, he only wanted to fight now.

    Dante frowned when he sawDante''s actions.

    "Are you sure that you want to challenge me? I advise you to fight some of the lower ranked holders to get some experience first."

    Dante didn''t pay any heed to Dio''s advice as he kicked off the ground and attacked.

    "Words aren''t working... Well, I hope that death will clear your mind."

    Dio''s expression didn''t change as he lifted his finger.

    "Sword"

    From Dio''s fingertip, a ray of sword-light appeared.In that moment Dante heard a humming noise in his head as the dagger in his hand began to shake, but that didn''t stop him.

    However, he didn''t even get the chance to land a single blow as a hole suddenly appeared in his foreheaddeclaring the end of the battle.

    The cheering crowd shouted madly as the winner was decided.

    The last thing Dante saw was Dio''s expressionless face.

    Dante''s vision turned dark as he returned to the inner-world.

    His breathing was ragged, even if he didn''t really die just now, the feeling was there.

    "100% simulation... Is that what it means? Everything felt so real."

    At the Commander level, demons wouldn''t die immediatelyeven with a hole in their head, that sword light had smashed half of his brain before dissipating.

    That level of damage would kill anyone.

    Dante calmed himself, after checking his mental energy he found that he had lost a fifth of it.

    He could still go on.

    "I won''t surrender so easily."

    ...

    ...

    "Fuck!"

    Five hours and he had already died 30 times.

    "I wasn''t even able to make him draw his swords..."

    Dante felt frustrated beyondall belief, he didn''t even land a single blow on his opponent!

    Every time he died in the same way with a hole in his forehead.

    "Dio..."

    The first ranked among Commander levels was a human called Dio.

    Dante didn''t understand how the Colosseum could copy that monster''s abilities and techniques, but he was sure of one thing.

    "He''s on another whole level."

    Dante felt it, it was like the distance between heaven and earth.

    They had the same level of cultivation, Dante even had an advantage thanks to his bloodline abilities.

    However, that didn''t matter when faced with absolute power.

    When he entered the Colosseum he had been arrogant due to his recent leap in strength, but that arrogance turned into frustration when he understood that it was still nowhere near enough.

    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    "My techniques are far too lacking until now I''ve relied on my judgement and my cultivation but that will take me nowhere..."

    Dante knew that it was time for him to have his own trump cards and techniques.

    He felt lucky, those battles gave him the chance to realize this fatal flaw.

    "I already have the golden bell and that lightning seal but they can''t be considered as being part of my own strength.

    Dio''s surprise made it clear that it isn''t normal for someone to have as much mental energy as I have, I should make use of this advantage and focus on mental energy techniques..."

    It was true, normally in the span of five hours, one could at most battle fifteen times or so. Dante was well above that limit.

    He couldn''t buy anything from the Library with his current status as ''Student'' and Rayleigh had told him to save his merit points for the future.

    He had already tried everything he could against Dio, with his current abilities he wouldn''t face him again.

    Dante calmed himself before leaving the Colosseum.

    "What?"

    Near the Arc de Triomphe there was a pile of black skulls.

    "Thirty skulls... Is this my death count?"

    Dante looked at them for a long time before leaving.

    ...

    ...

    Rayleigh was chatting with Roxelane when Dante arrived.

    After waiting for their conversation to end, Dante asked.

    "Master, can you teach me any good techniques you know?"

    Rayleigh already expected Dante to ask him that question.

    "You have fought the 1st ranker, didn''t you?

    Well, think about it for a moment.

    Am I really going to teach you anything without any requirements?"

    Dante only had some hope about this, until now everything he wanted had a price on it.

    "What do I have to do?"

    Rayleigh smiled seeing that Dante understood quickly.

    After thinking for a moment he said.

    "I want to see a map of the Five Continents.

    I already asked you about it a few days ago...

    However, it seems like I will have to add some benefits if I want to see it anytime soon."

    Dante''s cheeks reddened a bit of embarrassment.

    He had promised to look for a map but he couldn''t find any time to buy one, maps of the Five Continents weren''t something you could buy anywhere.

    "I will buy you one as soon as possible!"

    Rayleigh was satisfied by Dante''s answer.

    After a bit of consideration, he pointed his finger between Dante''s eyebrows.

    "What I''m going to transmit you arethe fundamentals of swordsmanship, I can''t give you much because I''m only asking for a map.

    It will be very useful to you, from what I can see you never had any systematic training in the way of the sword..."

    Dante rolled his eyes, of course, he didn''t. That course required 1000 dungeon points when he was a rookie, he couldn''t afford it!

    However, he didn''t have the time to voice his thought as a beam of light entered his eyebrows.

    In that moment Dante felt a sea of information and experiences take root in his head.

    It was divine sense inheritance!

    Dante was amazed, he thought that he would give him a manual or something...

    After a while Dante''s aura changed, now it had a hint of sharpness in it.

    Still a bit dazedbecause of the new information, Dante bowed to his teacher.

    Rayleigh smiled as he said.

    "This should set your path for the sword, if you train diligently you will be able to attain great heights in it!"

    Rayleigh paused for a moment before saying.

    "It''s almost time for you to leave the inner-world... Dante, you have to raise your status quickly! There are many locked features of the Death Mark which will help you greatly."

    Dante nodded as he left the Death Mark.

    The next time he entered it,he wouldn''t be the same as now.

 Ch. 30: The Assassins Guild

    Dante decided to have breakfast before heading to the Assassin''s Guild.

    At Commander level, one could use spiritual energy to replace food, but many still ate because they found pleasure in doing it.

    When he arrived at the canteen he found Basil feasting on a cake.

    Basil sensed Dante''sarrival, sohe tried talking to him with his mouth filled with food.

    "Dante, you have to try this! It''s called ''pastiera'', the taste is simply heavenly!"

    Seeing Basil''s current state, Dante decided to take aseat a bit farther from him.

    Afterlooking at the men¨´ heordered the same cake Basil was eating.

    "It shouldn''t taste too bad."

    After a few minutes, a maid arrived with a plate in hand.

    Dante felt hungry just by looking at the cake, the moment the maid left he dug in.

    "How is the taste?"

    Taking his eyes off the cake, Dante saw the manager.

    She was looking at him with pride in her eyes, in her hands,there was a newspaper.

    "Really good cake, my friend is also loving it!"

    The prideful look in the manager''s eyes grew even more, but Dante didn''t notice it. He was looking at the newspaper in her hands.

    With his acute eyesight he could see the headline of the newspaper, Dante whispered to himself.

    "King levels of the Dungeon on the move in theLank Kingdom"

    Was it related to those shady Warmages?

    The manager noticed that Dante was looking at the newspaper and said.

    "Have you heard about it? A dozen or so King levels were sent by theSecond tier Dungeons managing our sector... The last time there was such a mobilization it was because of that evil cult which planned to sacrifice millions of people for some sort of ritual... I hope it isn''t as bad as I think or even Winterlake city will face a calamity."

    The manager was right. Winterlake city shared borders with the Lank Kingdom, it was easy for the city to get involved.

    Dante lost his appetite, he got up leaving the cake half-finished.

    He nodded towards the manager before saying to Basil.

    "Basil I''m goingif you want you can eat this cake."

    Basil stopped eating, he felt that Dante was a bit gloomy just now. He hurriedly sent him a mental message.

    "Has something happened?"

    Dante looked at him for a moment before sending back a mental message.

    "A storm is coming, we better prepare ourselvesas much as we can. Forget about cautiousness, we have to get ourselves ready before it arrives."

    A savage smile appeared on Basil''s face, he sent a mental message before hurrying to the exit.

    "Now we are talking!"

    Dante smiled. If it wasn''t because time was tight he would have preferred a less aggressive approach, but that was impossible now.

    "Maybe it''s even worse than I think..."

    Dante left the inn with a heavy heart, that feeling of urgency was even stronger now.

    ...

    ...

    "It should be nearby."

    Dante looked at the towering statue in the main square of Winterlake city.

    It was the statue of an average looking man wearing a Dungeon soldier''s uniform, but his aura gave everyone a sense of familiarity regardless of race. It was a statue crafted by agreat sculptor.

    His identity wasn''t clear, but statues like this were positioned in every important city of the Five Continents.

    The map Dante got from his friend in the Dungeon used this statue as a landmark.

    "Could it be underground? Well, it would be strange if such a shady organization were to operate in plain sight."

    No matter where he looked Dante couldn''t find the building described on the map.

    Where the Assassin''s Guild should be, there was an old shop.

    People would pass by it without even noticing it.

    After looking at it for a long time, Dante saw that there was something strange around that shop.

    He asked a few passersby if they could see that old shop, but what they told him that all they could see was a construction site. After thinking for a moment he understood

    "It''s a cover... There should be some sort of formation which keeps those under the Commander level from seeing it. Thanks to my Eye bloodline I could sense that something was off even if I have never studied formations."

    After making sure that he didn''t forget anything, Dante entered the shop.

    "Hello."

    The moment Dante entered the shop a bolt darted off towards his forehead.

    However, Dante was already prepared.

    "I didn''t die 30 times for nothing..."

    Even if the bolt was fast its speed paled when compared to the ray of sword-light which had killed Dante so many times.

    Dante caught the bolt with his hand before throwing it at half of his force in a certain direction.

    The bolt whistled at high speed towards its target

    The sound of clapping resounded through the old shop but only for a moment before an exclamation of surprise replaced it.

    "Impressive!"

    The man who threw the bolt had expected Dante to do that, it was obvious that it wasn''t the first time this happened.

    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report itIt was all a test.

    The man was about to catch the bolt when suddenly his expression distorted due to fear, he quickly pulled back his hand.

    The bolt suddenly increased in speed, if the man hadn''t reacted in time the bolt would have blown out his hand. The deadly bolt embedded itself in a dark wall behind the man before it exploded into countless pieces.

    The man looked angrily at Dantebut seeing that he couldn''t fathom the depth of this newcomerthat anger quickly changed into respect. After bowing to Dante, he said respectfully.

    "Welcome to the Assassin''s Guild guest, my name is Luke and I''m the shopkeeper. Are you here to make a request or to join our Guild?"

    Dante was impressed by the Guild''s power, for the shopkeeper to be a middle stage Commander level...

    After a moment of silence, Dante said.

    "I''m here to become an Assassin... I heard of your Guild''s fame and decided to join it."

    Luke had been the shopkeeper for a few years and had already seen many kinds of people trying to become Assassins, but not everyone could become one.

    "I hope that you won''t be disappointed by our Guild then."

    After saying that,Luke patted three times a brick on the dark wall. A passage leading downwards appeared.

    Dante seemed unconcerned as he walked into it, but the truth is that he was on high alert.

    Luke''s actions didn''t escape his eye, there could be other tests waiting for him.

    However, as he went down the passage nothing happened.

    After a few minutes, he finally arrived at the end of the passage. Just as he was about to enter he froze in his spot. Ten daggers came flying at him at a high speed.

    Dante''s blue eyes flashed with a freezing light as his Purple Gold Core began revolving at a mad speed.

    The ten daggers stopped in mid-air as spiritual energy enveloped them.

    "Vicious... They were even coated in poison. It''s obvious that I would have died if my qualifications were lacking..."

    Dante remembered the three pats Luke gave to the brick, after a moment of consideration he understood.

    "It should be some sort of signal... I should be more careful from now on."

    After taking a deep breath, Dante entered a vastspace. Dante was now in a hall lit with torches. In front of Dante, there was a curvaceous woman wearing a hood. Dante didn''t walk towards her but decided to wait.

    The woman pulled off her hood as she approached him.

    She had a beautiful face, but it couldn''t be compared to Roxelane''s royal beauty.

    Dante wasn''t fazed by her looks as he still maintained his cool.

    "She is too close!"

    The woman was less than ten meters from Dante now, it was a distance that Commander levels could cross in the blink of an eye.

    Just when Dante was about to take out his Frost Dagger, the woman suddenly spoke.

    "Welcome fellow cultivator to the Assassin''s Guild, my name is Alice. The two simple tests you have just gone through proved your qualifications as a rookie Assassin, during your first mission your partner will assess your performance.

    If successful you will become a mercenary Assassin and you will be able to choose your own missions."

    Dante nodded. He didn''t ask her about the requirement for success nor what would happen if he failed.

    If he did that it would showthat he didn''t trust his own abilities.

    Seeing that Dante didn''t have any doubts, Alice smiled before snapping her fingers.

    The moment she did that a middle-aged man suddenly appeared beside her.

    "Hong you will be the one responsible for his assessment. I heard that we received a request to kill that vicious merchant in the north district...

    It will be a good mission for him, now you can both go."

    The middle-aged man gave a simple nod to Alice before heading towards the passage. He didn''t even look at Dante for a single time.

    Dante was about to follow behind him when the man suddenly turned around and glanced at him briefly.

    In that moment Dante felt himself being crushed by a powerful force as his bones began cracking, luckily his body was far more resilient than the average Commander level.

    "General level..."

    This was adisplay of power, Dante grinned as he also released his power.

    In less than a second Dante revealed his cultivation of middle stage Commander level dissipating the suppressing force of the General level.

    Hong smiled briefly, he acknowledged Dante''s power.

    "It was just a third of my power but he dealt with it so easily... This demon isn''t simple, he should bethe type who has great mental energy."

    Dante''s high mental energy gave him great control on his spiritual power but that wasn''t the end of it.

    The Purple-Gold Core in his dantian was slowly changing his spiritual power''s properties, its density made it comparable to the spiritual power of peak Commander levels.

    Dante and Hong left the old shop, they were going to Winterlake city''s north district.

    They walked leisurely, their calmness would never suggest that they were about to kill someone.

    It was only when they arrived in front of a certain mansion that killing intent briefly appeared in their eyes.

    Knowing that this was their target, Dante was about to enter the mansion alone. However, he was stopped by Hong who said in a cold voice.

    "Calm down boy, why don''t we have breakfast in a bar and talk about our plan a bit? I hope you weren''t thinking about barging in without knowing anything..."

    Dante almost lost his poker face in that moment, when he thought about Hong''s words he found that it would have been indeed stupid if he were to go in like that.

    He tried his best to not sound embarrassed when he said.

    "I already had breakfast, but I won''t mind having a tea."

    Hong grinned before heading to a nearby bar.

 Ch. 31: Carack

    "I will be watching your performance from the dark, remember what I told you."

    After saying that a dark engraving appeared on Hong''s forehead as darkness enveloped him, merging him with his surroundings.

    Dante recalled the plan while making his way towards the manor''s main entrance. The gate was only guarded by two peak Soldier levels but they were capable enough as they immediately shouted a warning, killing intent could be heard from their voices. They wanted to intimidate Dante.

    "Stop!"

    Dante didn''t bother with them, he already knew what to do. He had concealed his Commander level aura on purpose because he didn''t want to alert the target.

    Seeing that Dante wasn''t heeding their warning the two guards released the power of their cultivation bases while drawing their swords. However just as they were about to give another warning, they suddenly passed out with foam coming out of their mouths.

    "Overwhelm!"

    While it would be an exaggeration to call it a skill, it certainly did its job.

    It was something which Dante came up with to deal with Dio, but it didn''t work against that monster.

    ''Overwhelm'' was a skill which made use of Dante''s huge amount of mental energy to attack the enemy''s mental dimension and crush it.

    However, due to Dante''s lack of skill, his mental energy attack couldn''t crumble the enemy''s mental dimension and only made his foes pass out, which became useful in situations like this one.

    "If I can''t kill them I can at least use them to improve my skill."

    Dante couldn''t kill the guards because they had a mental connection with Carack, the merchant Dante had to kill.

    "I should take the stairs... What!?"

    Dante felt something summoning him from upstairs, his Purple-Gold core thumped madly in his dantian as if there was something calling it.

    Hong had given him a map of the manor and some papers with the required information while eating donuts in the bar.

    "It''s coming from the merchant''s office... Could it be a trap?"

    The manor had three floors with the merchant''s studio being on the first floor, Dante already planned to kill his target immediately without wasting any time, but now he felt that things would get even more dangerous.

    As he made his way towards the merchant''s office, several guards tried to stop him but they all fell unconscious under Dante''s mental attack regardless of their cultivation bases.

    "With its low expenditure of mental energy, it''s really useful for those under the Commander level but it''s obviously not enough against more powerful foes."

    The attack''s flaw was that it was too simple and unrefined, Commander levels could defend against it with some effort thanks to their control of mental energy. Soldier and Lieutenant levels pass out immediately because of the great disparity between them and Dante.

    "It''s really troublesome..."

    Dante took out his Frost Dagger while approaching the merchant''s office, the dagger released a freezing aura, ready to slaughter.

    Kicking the door open, Dante released his mid-stage Commander level cultivation base while attacking with a full power ''Overwhelm''. Dante''s strategy was effective, the two were briefly stunned by Dante''s attacks and could only watch coldly with killing intent.

    Even if they didn''t pass out, he could at least delay their reactions slightly.

    Yes, ''them'', the reason Dante had to be so stealthy was due to the Commander level slave always guarding Carack.

    That slave was the reason behind the merchant''s infamy.

    Dante''s strategy bought him a few breaths of time, plenty enough for him to carry out the assassination.

    However just as he was about to attack, Carack''s smug face crumbled as he began whimpering and pleading for mercy while kowtowing. Dante was stunned by the sudden development, he would have never expected to see an orc kowtowing to him in his entire life. In their whole life, orcs would kowtow only to their parents and their Warlord. Even under the threat of death, they wouldn''t kneel, not to mention kowtowing.

    "Fuck, I lost my chance!"

    Dante knew that now he would have to deal with the merchant''s slave now. If the fight dragged out he would end up in a troublesome situation.

    According to the report, in his berserk state that slave could hold his own against early-stage General levels.

    The slave''s eyes turned amber, and a pair of vertical pupils radiated a bone-chilling aura, his white skin was now covered with brown scales. The slave''s killing intent was focused entirely on Dante.

    "Warlock!"

    This was the scenario that Dante had wanted to avoid the most, but it seemed like he would really have to fight now. However, just as he was about to make the first move the orc gave an order to his slave.

    "Stop!"

    The slave was confused but after a moment of hesitation, he still obeyed.

    On the other hand, Dante didn''t stop. After a moment of hesitation, he decided to attack anyway.

    Carack knew that his words weren''t enough to stop his assassin, therefore, without hesitating he said.

    "Lord! If you are willing I can make this slave of mine become your subordinate, please I am willing to serve Lord for the rest of my life!"

    The moment he said that Carack''s eyes gleamed with madness as he pushed his finger down onto his forehead, blood-colored light flickered as a single drop of blood appeared, radiating an ethereal aura. Victor''s face turned ashen, that blood-drop contained a third of his soul!

    With that drop of soul-blood, his life would be in Dante''s hands from now on!

    Carack''s actions finally moved Dante, but he still harboured some suspicion. What happened that made him change his mind so fast?

    The mission stated that he had to kill the merchant, but what if he took him under his wing and disguised him?

    This was a gift from the heavens! He had been thinking of a way to money-launder his gang''s revenues and who would do better than a Merchant for this role? The only problem was that he had to explain everything to Hong now.

    Seeing that Dante was still hesitating, the orc hurriedly said.

    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    "Lord, what you see now is but a disguise. I was an orc priest before being exiled from the Aderlate Continent due to my father''s death in a war of factions... I''m not asking Lord to take revenge for me, I only ask for shelter, until I''m powerful enough. With Lord''s potential and identity, I''m certain that the day of my revenge won''t be far-off!"

    Carack''s eyes turned bloodshot and his expression was filled with hatred as he recalled his powerful enemies, but that didn''t affect Dante too much.

    If Dante were to leave him only because of his troublesome background then he could just build a house in the wilderness and live as a monk!

    He already knew that his path would be full of risks, Dante needed endless tempering if he really wanted to find an answer to his questions.

    However, he still wanted to know something from Carack before accepting him as his subordinate.

    Dante absorbed the drop of soul blood, he felt like he could extinguish Carack''s life with a thought.

    It took him a few moments to calm himself, before saying.

    "My name is Dante and I can take you under my wing, but you have to tell me the reason behind your change of heart."

    Carack''s expression turned complicated, but after a moment of thought, he turned resolute as he sent a mental message.

    The information he was about to give him, wasn''t something he could say casually.

    "Lord Dante, a normal orc wouldn''t notice it and even a former priest like me would only feel that there was only something strange, but in truth Lord''s aura carries a trace of the Warlord''s will!

    I was only able to perceive it because my father took me to our ancestral shrine when I had my coming of age ceremony.

    That day under the incredulous eyes of my father, I received the blessings of the Warlord, shocking the elders of my race. This matter was kept secret even from the Hell Dungeon to ensure my safety... Who would have known that I would meet disaster at the hands of my own people..."

    Carack smiled bitterly as he remembered how foolish he was to blindly trust them.

    "In the end my cultivation was crippled, my whole clan was wiped out... They didn''t even spare the branches in the other continents. I only survived thanks to the weapon bestowed upon me by the Warlord..."

    Carack removed a hand axe pendant from his neck while swiping his wrist with its edge, the hand axe greedily devoured his blood while a primaeval aura surged in the room, covering them with blood-colored light. When he saw it Dante''s expression changed abruptly, he felt his head rumble as a feeling of familiarity welled up inside him.

    He could see the Purple-Gold core in his Dantian, turning a shade darker as the dark energy in Dante''s body began flowing madly.

    Carack waited for a moment so that Dante could regain his composure before sending another mental message.

    "When Lord appeared, the hand axe materialised from my dantian on its own,  I could feel that it had submitted completely to you... The moment I noticed the change, I immediately recognized you as The One.

    It''s a reaction which only The One mentioned by my father, can trigger.

    Lord Dante, let me be your sword on your journey! I can assure you, that I won''t let you down."

    Carack kowtowed again as he waited for Dante''s response.

    At this point, Dante didn''t know what to say anymore.

    "Things are getting out of hand..."

    He had come here to kill and somehow he ended up becoming some hero of sorts!

    It took him a long time to recover, before choosing his response.

    He was tempted to just refuse and forget about today''s happenings, but he felt that this could be a lead to understand the true nature of that black substance in his body. Now that he finally found a lead, he couldn''t simply forget about it!

    After a long while, Dante finally sent another mental message.

    "In the east district of Winterlake city, there is a casin¨° named ''Passione'', there you will find a friend of mine. His name is Basil, just tell him that you are joining the gang on my recommendation.

    In the future, you will be tasked with handling the finances of the gang, until that moment you will participate in our expansion. A month from now, I will visit the headquarters. Our goal is to obtain control of at least a third of the district in that time, I hope that you will help us achieve our goal.

    You can go now, from now on your home will be the casino until you find a new lodging. This place isn''t suitable anymore for you."

    Carack kowtowed again with a joyful expression, he knew that from now on his revenge wouldn''t be a pipe dream anymore.

    However, when he heard that he only had a month at his disposal, Carack couldn''t help but frown.

    Even if he had the help of Ronald, his slave, it will be extremely difficult to accomplish that.

    From Dante''s words, he could deduce that the so-called gang, was only a small group without much power at hand.

    Still, he didn''t show anything on his face as he got up and hastily left the place.

    Seeing that Carack had left, Dante looked around himself for a minute.

    Worry could be seen in his eyes as he said.

    "Hong, you can come out now."

    A ripple appeared near one of the chairs, as a middle-aged man appeared beside it.

    He had dark hair, streaked with grey near his temples. Hong''s brown eyes revealed his puzzlement and for once he wasn''t alone since Dante was still coming to terms with the changes.

    Hong couldn''t hear much of their conversation, so he was still confused about the matter.

    However, he quickly hid it away as he countered Dante''s doubts.

    "No, the Assassin''s Guild won''t punish you. In fact, we could even reward you if you told the leader how you did it! Dante, you actually managed to enslave an orc without crumbling his mental energy dimension! If the upper-echelons of the orc race got wind of this, they will surely do all they can to kill you... Ahaha, don''t worry I won''t say anything. Now that you have passed the examination we can be considered brothers!

    Our Assassin''s Guild pursues a relationship of complete trust between members. Thanks to this policy the death rate of the missions is incredibly low compared to other guilds!

    However, losses are bound to happen in the end..."

    The light in Hong''s eyes dimmed as he reminisced about the past.

    Dante heaved a sigh of relief and waited respectfully until Hong calmed his mental state.

    After a while Hong said.

    "For the next month or so, we will cooperate to accomplish several missions. The goal will be training our teamwork and your skills as an assassin.

    I see that you have developed a mental skill of your own ''Overwhelm'' isn''t it? Not bad, not bad at all. However, it''s obvious that you still have to work on it, truly powerful skills can work on opponents at your same level or even at a higher level!

    You have a powerful fleshly body but the dagger you''re using should be only a peak Mortal weapon, it would be better if you had a Spiritual weapon so that you can bring out your full power in battle.

    Even if I don''t view myself as one of those incredible sages, I can at least say this much after living for a few hundred years.

    It will depend on your own abilities and encounters to see this path to its end."

    Hong''s words carried the wisdom and observation skills he had developed for all his life, hearing them Dante found that they were all on point.

    He nodded to Hong before saying.

    "Thank you, I feel that we will be able to accomplish great things together!"

    Hong grinned before laughing boisterously, he liked the ambition of his new partner.

 Ch. 32: Half a year to the Coffin

    "Hong, can you wait for me a bit? I still have something to do here."

    Dante looked greedily at all the books and furniture in Carack''s ex-office, he couldn''t help but sigh as he remembered the hardshipsand dangers he braved when he was in the Dungeon.

    "Of those who managed to get into the top ten of the rookie tournament, I was the only one who didn''t have a Commander level teacher. They didn''t want to waste any nurturing on someone who had his cultivation path cut off by a disease, I had to work far harder than anyone else, always accepting high-risk missions to obtain Dungeon points...

    Even after doing all that I only became a somewhat bigger ant."

    Dante still rememberedthe disdain and indifference he received from those that he once laughed with andregarded as his friends.

    All of this only fueled his greed even more.

    Seeing Dante''s wolf-like eyes, Hong hurriedly replied.

    "No problem, you have completed the mission faster than I thought, a bit of delay won''t matter."

    Dante averted his eyes while Hong breathed a sigh of relief.

    "That gaze sure gives the chills, it''s like being stared at by a starved werebeast."

    Hong was about toask him what had piqued his interest when, under his incredulous eyes, Dante looted everything in the office.

    Books, furniture, paintings, he didn''t spare even the curtains!

    Every time his eyes fell on something

    Hong watched befuddled as Dante swept the office clean, the green glow in Dante''s eyes was even more noticeable.

    Hong watched with a look of admiration on his face, those fluid movements were a feast for the eyes.

    "His control of spiritual power is exceptional, but the way he is skillfully taking anything valuable... It looks like this isn''t the first time he does it."

    Hong didn''t know that before joining his friend''s gang, Dante robbed houses for a living.

    His skill came from years of experience!

    If someone were to enter the office now, he would never think that just a while ago it was entirely furnished.

    "Hehehe, it seems like my skill has become a bit rusty... It''s been nine years since the day my parents died...

    Time sure flies fast."

    Entering the Dungeon didn''t end Dante''s career as an amateur thief, in fact, his ability proved useful on his path as an elite scout.

    With his cultivation being limited to the peak of the Soldier level, Dante could only choose the most suitable path for him.

    His hope was to one-day breakthrough to Lieutenant level and cure his disease.

    Hong obviously didn''t know Dante''s background, when he snappedout of his reverie he couldn''t help but ask while shaking his head.

    "I don''t understand, with your Commander level power and background, why would you care about those inanities?

    These books only contain foundational knowledge while the furniture even if it''s of high quality, it isn''t worth the hassle.

    In the end, a few tens of thousands of gold coins are only pocket money for the likes of us who pursue the Dao!"

    Hong couldn''t help but get a bit emotional at this point, he had lived for a few hundred years already and hewas extremely clear of the value of money.

    Even if it was useful, it couldn''t compare with cultivating the Dao at all.

    Obsession could be seen in Hong''s eyes, his voice louder and louder.

    "Life! At the pinnacle of cultivation, it''s possible to revive the dead!

    Even if a price has to be paid, we cultivators naturally go against the heavens.

    Sacrifice has always been a part of cultivation!"

    A gleam of madness appeared in Hong''s eyes, a dark aura of death briefly appeared on him, but it disappeared as soon as it came.

    Dante obviously noticed Hong''s state but didn''t ask him anything out of respect for him.

    When the time comes, he would know about those things.

    However, Danteraged when he heard those words.

    He almost forgot that he was talking to a General level when he said.

    "Only foundational knowledge? Do you know how much I toiled for this shit, years ago?

    I had to risk my life every day just to read them! I dare you to say that again."

    Hong was dumbstruck by Dante''s words, he thought that Dante was an exceptional genius groomed by some powerful organization.

    He could see that Dante was still young thanks to his cultivation, in fact,Dante wasn''t even twenty yet.

    In any organization, even in the fearsome Hell Dungeon, it was praiseworthy for someone to attain Commander level before the age of twenty.

    This can be accomplished only with incredible resources nurturing them and great talent, exceptions would be bloodline holders.

    Bloodline holders were descendants of King level and higher powerhouses with a bloodline at least 40% pure, who underwenttheir first bloodline awakening.

    They would have a headstart in cultivation but would need much more resources to breakthrough due to their special bodies and souls.

    "Is he from one of those ancient powers who train their disciples harshly?"

    Hong couldn''t help but marvel, it was extremely difficult for rouge cultivators to reach Commander level before turning twenty.

    It has to be remembered thatall this was under the assumption that Dante had been nurtured since his birth.

    If Hong were to know that Dante had broken through two levels in just a week, he would probably go mad on the spot

    "Maybe he was sent here by his organization togain experience... Well, he wouldn''t be the first to do that."

    Noticing that Dantewas still staring at him fiercely, Hong harrumphed before saying.

    "Let''s go, we are alreadybehindyour schedule!

    Little thief, this next month is gonna be really busy for you."

    Seeing the evil grin on Hong''s face, Dante''s previous ferociousness was nowhere to be seen.

    A cold chill ran down his spine when he thought aboutthe words he said just now.

    What was he thinking about?

    In the past he never let his emotions take control of him, even when, years ago, he heard the doctor''s diagnosis he only stared blankly for a brief moment before recovering his composure.

    When he heard, little thief, he also felt some anger well up inside him.

    "What is happening to me?"

    Dante''s mental state had already reached ''Iron level'' which meant he had a tranquil heart capable of managing intense emotions withoutproducing many ripples in his heart.

    He could easily defend against low-levelled illusion and with a great deal of effort he could fend off even mid-grade illusions.

    Just as he began to panic, an ice-cold energy spread from the centre of his forehead.

    The freezing aura chilled the office, it was a mid-summer noon but in that moment the officeseemed to come out of the harshest of winters.

    Dante felt his thoughts slow as his previously emotional and unstable state disappeared.

    He felt in complete control of himself, his tranquil eyes seemed as calm as a windless sea.

    However, under that calm, a storm was brewing.

    Hong noticed Dante''s change, but other than giving him a deep look, he didn''t do anything else.

    "There are at least two bloodline powers clashing in his body, both of them still have to go through their first awakening but they can already cause such a disturbance..."

    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    With a dry voice, Hong asked.

    "Who are you, Dante?"

    If Dante heard Hong''s question, he would probably laugh himself to death.

    He lost count of how many times he asked himself that same question again and again in the last ten years.

    However, he was too absorbed in his thoughts to hear Hong''s question.

    "Is this the Silver level of mental state?"

    His thinking speed was extremely fast, in the blink of an eye, he knew that it wasn''t.

    The only thing that he was really knowledgeable of, was mental state.

    No one ever

    "This should only be a heightened mental state, it''s not permanent.

    When this state ends, I will probably return to the previous state or even worse.

    If handled poorly my cultivation could even go berserk without me knowing.

    The only question is, how long will I remain in this state?"

    Dante didn''t waste any time, he quickly inspected his body with his mental energy.

    "Nothing, the problem isn''t in my Dantian nor in my mental energy dimension...

    Could it be related to those two entities lying in my blood?"

    Dante tried to delve into his bloodstream with his consciousness once again.

    Again that roar he heard last night shook his mental energy dimension, this time Dante was barely able to hold onto his consciousness and resist the power of rejection.

    Hewas able to do that only thanks to his heightened mental state.

    Then he saw it.

    "Those two again..."

    It was a battle between a Purple-Eyed Demon and a Seven-Colored Dragon, they seemed to possess a will of their own as they fought with incredible power shaking everything.

    They each radiated an aura of their own, the majority of the Purple-Eyed Demon''s aura would flow towards his forehead, only a part to his eyes, while the Seven-Colored Dragon would destroy his cells and nurture the new ones.

    Every time they exchanged blows, billions of cells would die before being replaced by new ones.

    The new cells would be sturdier as they absorbed the seven-colored aura of the Dragon.

    Battles like this were fought in each of Dante''s 123 meridians, shockingly Dante found that the previous dark meridians filled with impurities were now shining brightly and expanding as they shook everytime the man and the dragon exchanged blows.

    "If it goes on like this, I will probably die in half a year."

    The rate at which the new cells were being produced was lagging behind the rate of their destruction.

    His body wastrying his best to adapt, but the rate at which the new cells reproduced was slower as they lived far longer than Dante''s old cells and required far more energy to be produced.

    His body was coping with the problem by ''eating'' the old dead cells and using them as fuel.

    Even his brain was affected, the reason his mental state was so unstable was due to his brain slowly dying at the hands of this forced "evolution".

    "I hope that the Death Mark will be able to give me a solution or I''m pretty much on my way to the coffin...

    What my body lacks should be ''fuel'' which means I need large quantities of food or any sort of energy.

    I can temporarily solve the problem by channelling my spiritualpower to all of my body, but that will leave me stuck at mid-stage Commander level."

    Just when Dante was about to retract his consciousness, he noticed something which shocked him to the core.

    In his heart, there was a Man with beast-like appearance and an Orc with a battleaxe in his hands.

    They weren''t fighting, a green restorative aura was emitted from them as they sat, shoulder to shoulder in the lotus position.

    Dante immediately recognized the man, he was the Beastman called Fenrir who left the legacy of his race to him.

    Fenrir and the Orc seemed much more corporeal than the dragon and the Purple-Eyed Demon.

    The green aura was reshaping Dante''s heart, making it more powerful and robust.

    With every heartbeat, the regenerative powers of the green aura would flow through Dante''s body, slowing the rate at which it degenerated.

    Dante had the feeling that when his heart completed the transformation, his heartbeats would be as thunderous as tribulation lightning.

    "Without this green aura, my body would probably crumble after two months."

    Dante felt extreme clarity in that moment, having a deadline made everything more simple.

    He heaved a sigh of relief when he thought of how dangerous it would have been if he didn''t discover it now.

    "I should deal with the current mission first, then I will search for the solution.

    If I show too much weakness they will take advantage of it."

    Dante''s eyes regained their focus, the first thing he did was to look at a corner.

    In his heightened state his senses were far more developed than before, thanks to them he found a hidden corner in Carack''s office.

    With a heavy punch, the metal wall collapsed, revealing a stash of money and valuables such as talismans and expensive wines.

    There was even a ballista aimed at the entrance of the office.

    Now he knew why Carack was so confident in his chances.

    He put them all in his spatial ring, he would give them to Carack and Basil a month later.

    When he turned around, he saw Hong''s dumbstruck face.

    "A General level like me couldn''t detect that hidden corner even with my Divine Sense...

    Is that wall made of some special material?"

    This time, Hong''s greed had been aroused. Materials capable of blocking Divine sense were incredibly valuable, they could fetch a hundred thousand gold coins for just a kilogram.

    Hong tried to hide his interest, but it was too late.

    How could this escape Dante''s heightened perception? He immediately noticed that the wall should be made of some exceptional material if even Hong couldn''t detect that hidden corner.

    He was just about to put all of it in his spatial ring when he had an idea.

    "Hong, if I give you half of these materials, can you keep silent about the matter of Carack becoming my slave?

    I don''t want any trouble, I''m sure that this gift will be the beginning of a good friendship!"

    Hong hurriedly nodded, since the beginning, he never intended to say anything about the matter.

    However, he still accepted the offer as he didn''t want to look suspicious by refusing.

    As he saw more and more of Dante''s abilities he grew more and more resolute.

    First, it was his cultivation, then his bloodline powers and in the end his amazing perception.

    However, it was that faint roar who made even his Nascent Soul tremble that truly convinced him.

    He knew that Dante was someone not to be trifled with. If he managed to befriend him it would only bring him good fortune.

    From now on he would treat him as an equal.

    "Sure! Let''s go to the Assassination Guild then, this is only the beginning of your training.

    There are still many things that you will learn with us!"

    Dante smiled, now he could rest assured about that matter.

    "Let''s go!"

    Leaving the dilapidated office, the two made their way back to the Assassin''s Guild.

    Their pocketswere heavier, at the expenses of a certain merchant.

    While walking they joked about how Carack would react when he came to check that hidden corner later.

    The orc in question sneezed several times that day, even if it was summer.

 Ch. 33: One month, The Drunk Lord and the Benefactor

    There were several must go places in Winterlake city and the ''Drunk Dragon'' was one of such places.

    Being the most famous tavern inthe whole south-east sector of the Zelias Continent, the Drunk Dragon earned its fame thanks to the good wine and the powerful boss behind it.

    The laughter of the customers, the scent of alcohol and roasted meat always managed to enchant newcomers.

    The bartenderwas a charming young woman with pretty violet eyes, her skillful moves coupled with her good looks attracted the fiery gazes of many customers, but no one dared to approach her due to the drunk giant leaning on the counter.

    He was three meters tall with a blood horn on his head, even when seated he looked like a mountain of flesh.

    If you didn''t look closely he would seem like your average drunkard.

    The smell of wine drifting from his body was so intoxicating that weak-minded customers would feel tipsy when they neared him, he was the Drunk Lord a King level monster.

    The intoxicating smell emanated from his body was due to his evolution path.

    Since the opening of the tavern, three hundred years ago, many were thestoriessurrounding him.

    The most famous being that time when a scion of the dragon race visited his tavern and tried to wreck the place.

    The reason behind the enmity is still unknown but that didn''t stop the masses from speculating, some say that the Drunk Lord had refused to sell his tavern to the young Chosen of the dragon race while others claim that the Drunk Lord had offended thelittle drakeling in the past, during one of his many bouts of madness when he was still young.

    Even today after thirty years from the event, that story is still a hot topic among adventurers and newcomers.

    That night the cold-blooded young master of the dragon race became sworn brothers with the Drunk Lord as they ate and drank the whole night.

    That night even the young master''s personal guards ended up with more alcohol than blood in their veins.

    The young master even turned into his dragon form as the duo embarked on a holyquest, with the Drunk Lord on his back, the dragon flew over Winterlake city, spreading bliss during the chilly autumn night.

    That night alcohol rained over Winterlake city, the intoxicatingwine-dropstriggering a state of extreme pleasure and ecstasy on anyone they fell upon.

    The next days, people found themselves rejuvenated and far more relaxed than they had ever been.

    In the Zelias Continent, that night is remembered as the ''Great Rainfall'', many young''uns celebrate this day bygetting wasted.

    Since that day the tavern became known across the continent as ''Drunk Dragon'', some would say that the name is just an arrogant display of idiocy, as dragons are renown for their extremely powerful fleshly bodies which are capable of metabolizing alcohol far faster than even Emperor level cultivators who have escaped the shackles of mortality.

    However, they would understand that it''s a well-deserved name after hearing the story behind it.

    Dante was celebrating the end of his training period in this tavern.

    "Let''s all offer a toast to our Afro Samurai!"

    "A toast to the Mountain Lord Slayer!"

    "A toast to Demon Eye!"

    Laughter broke out as the people sitting at the table downed a dozen cups.

    Dante''s face reddened a bit when he heard thetitles which they had given him, but he managed to make it seem like it was due to alcohol as he loudly hiccuped.

    The hiccup was so loud that even people in the other tables began to laugh!

    Dante got even more embarrassed but he noticed that an awkward silence had descended as all the people in his table glared with killing intent at a nearby table.

    Hong sensed that things were getting out of hand so he quickly intervened.

    "Calm down, it isn''t the place nor the right time for a brawl. Remember that you are in the tavern of the Drunk Lord if you don''t want to end up asguinea pigs you better behave yourself."

    Hong''s words gained even more weight when the Drunk Lord suddenly gave a cold snort, he was obviously paying attention to them.

    A bald-headed man who looked like the leader of the other table decided to apologize on behalf of his friends.

    Seeing that they were all powerful cultivators, the bald-headed man felt a formless pressure envelop him as he inwardly sighed.

    Did they have to be so loud and pretentious with their celebration?

    ''Mountain slayer'' and ''Demon eye'' were some of the titles which spread like wildfire in the last month.

    He looked at the strange demon with the afro who claimed to be one of the ''Heavenly Punishment'' duo for a brief moment, before bowing lightly and saying.

    "We are deeply sorry for our lack of respect! Me and my companions were just caught off guard when they heard those titles.

    You have to know that in the last month the fame of the ''Heavenly Punishment duo'' has spread far and wide in the city, we didn''t expect to meet someone who claimed to be one of them! Until now the rumours say that he should at least be a King level or he would be unable to accomplish those incredible feats!

    In less than a month, dozens of Commander and General level scum have died under their hands, more than a dozen organizations destroyed...

    The city hasn''t seen such a purge since the appearance of the Dark Assassin twenty years ago!"

    The bald-headed man looked around him to seek the approval of the other tables, his words weren''t wrong, many people nodded their heads urging him to go on.

    In fact, many of them felt a bit of scorn, for someone to claim to be one of the Heavenly Punishment duo!? He should at least be a peak General level to barely meet the qualifications.

    Even if the boy was at the peak of Commander level, it was still far from enough.

    The bald-headed man didn''t continue, he waited for a reply from the other party, he knew that even if his words seemed polite, in the end, they barely hid the underlying mockery in them.

    Fighting was forbidden in the tavern and he was confident in his speed when it came to escaping thanks to his early stage General level cultivation coupled with an escape treasure.

    Just when he prepared himself to flee, the people he had just mocked suddenly began laughing boisterously.

    Their laughter went on for a long time as one by one everyone in the tavern began disappearing, only Dante and the Bald-headed man remained in the tavern.

    With an eerie smile plastered on his face, Dante simply stared at him.

    Dantesighed lightly as the tavern suddenly shattered into countless shards, there were only Dante and the bald-headed man now.

    The man looked at Dante with a mix of terror and disbelief, he actually felt as if he had turned into a mortal! He couldn''t draw upon the power of his cultivation base nor could he feel his Nascent Soul... He was completely suppressed! Dante''s expression was unreadable as he stared back at the baldheaded man, after a few moments he sighed deeply before saying.

    "I won''t repeat myself,crush that sound transmission jade.

    If you make any false moves you won''t live long enough to enjoy your rewards..."

    Seeing that the bald-headed man was trying to feign ignorance with his silence, a black seed radiating an eerie light appeared in Dante''s hands, the fear in the bald-headed man''s eyes became even stronger when he sensed its aura.

    "You know what this is? It''s a soul seed, by planting it in your soul you will turn into a slave whose life and death will be completely in my control.

    Are you still going to feign ignorance?

    Now tell me, why were you spying on us?"

    The bald-headed man nodded soundlessly, he hadn''t become a General levelbecause of foolishness.

    He knew that Dante wouldn''t leavehim any room for negotiation, the ability to trap someone in a mental energy illusion of such a level was enough for him to regard this strange youth with an afro as a powerful figure that he would better not offend if he wanted to get out of this in one piece.

    The bald-headed man didn''t hesitatewhen he knelt down and said.

    "Young Lord, I''m only a poor wandering cultivator... A few days ago, I was approached by a cloaked man, he told me that if I got wind of anything related to theHeavenly Punishment duo, I should immediately report to him through this sound transmitting jade.

    He gave me the jade with an advance of 500 gold coins if I reported anything he would give me the rest.

    I''m only a minor figure, this is all I know of!"

    The bald-headed man had been tailing Dante''s group since they left the Guild''s headquarters in the morning, Hong and the others had decided that it was better to just question him and scare him off as in the last few days the city was in turmoil.

    Dante looked at him briefly before nodding lightly, the bald-headed man sighed in relief, he was at Dante''s mercy in this illusion world.

    The scene returned to the bustling tavern, Dante had been slowly trapping the bald-headed man in that illusion since he began tailing them this morning.

    With Dante''s current mental energy and overall ability he obviously couldn''t create such a complex and detailed illusion instantaneously.

    Since a month ago he had grown immensely but it was still in the realm of the understandable, the only way to build such an illusion was by building it bit by bit and slowly trapping the bald-headed man deeper and deeper into the illusion.

    Had he been a little more on guard, with his General level cultivation the bald-headed man would have sensed that something was amiss thanks to his Nascent soul''s divine sense, but it couldn''t be helped because he underestimated his target now he had to face the consequences. His fate had been sealed when he fell for Dante''s last hiccup, that was what made his consciousness fall into the illusion completely.

    His own lapse of judgement coupled with Dante''s special illusion technique and Hong''s concealing spell resulted in the current situation.

    Having escaped the ordeal he sighed in relief, the mental energy Tracking Mark that Dante had placed on him at the last momentwent unnoticed.

    What he had called ''Soul seed'' was, in fact, a tracking mark, Dante wanted to use it to track back the organization which hired the bald-headed man and his minions.

    The tracking mark would remain concealed in the target''s mental energy dimension, when the target received a mental energy message it would send it back to the owner of the tracking mark before splitting in two and latching to the mental energy message''s sender.

    To be able to give away five hundred gold coins so easily only for a piece of highly unreliable intel, they would surely be a big threat if they had bad intentions. Dante calling it soul seed was only to frighten the man a bit and have him focus on his own safety.

    He had left almost a dozen of similar marks in the last weeks, but every one of his targets left Winterlake city.

    Dante could sense the mark even if the target got out of range, the only problem is that the connection would become blurry.

    He only got some vague information which didn''t point out to any specific name.

    Those spies were reporting to other cities and organizations scattered throughout the continent, this showed how Winterlake city, despite being called "The Free City", was, in fact, a dangerous place were crouching tigers and hidden dragons abounded.

    The reason why he trapped the bald-headed man in that illusion was to cover the presence of this ''Super'' tracking mark.

    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.This tracking mark had a range three times greater than the others and could split more times if needed, all of this to deal with the organizations that wanted to leak his and Hong''s identities.

    Thanks to the tracking marks he had placed previously he knew at least this much, but the spies were very crafty and didn''t mention anything about their own organizations.

    Still, from the gist of it, he could understand that the majority were just spies from the Lank Kingdom and the Lytal Republic trying to get information about the new ''Demonic Python gang'' and the Heavenly Punishment duo.

    They basically wanted toturn thenew rising gang into their own puppet organization.

    Many had speculated that the ''Heavenly Punishment'' and this new rising organization were in cahoots as the gang''s expansion took up the territories of the now destroyed gangs.

    However, what truly baffled everyone wasn''t the Duos'' identity, no the real question was, why in hell were the High tier gangs letting a new gang without any backing like the ''Demonic Python'' gang do as they please in their own turf?

    Unfortunately, this was something that even those directly interested didn''t really know.

    The Bald-headed man got up andcrushed the sound transmitting jade on the table before leaving with his group.

    His companions wanted to voice their complaints but were stopped by his warning gaze.

    They didn''t know that their every movement was now being tracked.

    This situation was all due to Dante frenziedlywiping out more than a dozen gangs during the last month.

    He first started off with the low tier gangs, those who relied on loan-sharking and other illegal stuff, he was basically following the training set by Hong.

    Those gangs had at most three or four Commander levels and didn''t pose much of a challenge as their bosses were just Commander levels appointed by the Mid-tier Mafias above them, Dante simply used them to refine his skills, enjoying his newfound powers under Hong''scareful watch.

    The defeated gangs would then end up being absorbed by Dante''s own gang.

    Dante had been training diligently like this for a few days, but everything changed when Reileigh''s hellish training began.

    Many years later, in the manor of his clan, Dante would still shiver when he remembered that creepy smile.

    "Dante, since you are slacking off I devised a training plan just for you! I call it the ''Death-Proof Training''.

    This training plan takes the best from the training methods used by the glorious Heaven Sundering Clan and combines them into one whole and perfect tort... Cough cough, I mean training.

    If you can keep up with it for a whole month I will give you a reward"

    The timing was perfect, Dante''s status as a Death Mark holder had just been upgraded from ''Student'' to ''Senior'', this changed the innerworld and his status greatly.

    Dante could now control the time flow of the inner-world, time could now be sped up and slowed by two times.

    The twelve-hour limit was also changed to a whole twenty-four hours.

    New features and zones were also available now.

    He could now see his ''status'' which displayed the number of honourpoints, merit points and other information about him.

    Even if Dante didn''t understand how it worked, at least this much was clear to him.

    (Dante''s status at the beginning of his Death-Proof Training)

    <table>

    <tbody>

    <tr>

    <td>Status: Senior</td>

    <td>Honor points:26346 / 1 000 000 | Merit Points:253 923 points</td>

    </tr>

    <tr>

    <td>Name:Dante ???</td>

    <td>Clan: ???</td>

    </tr>

    <tr>

    <td>Race:Demon, ???</td>

    <td>Bloodlines: ???</td>

    </tr>

    <tr>

    <td>Cultivation:Mid stage Commander level</td>

    <td>Condition:Extremely dangerous</td>

    </tr>

    <tr>

    <td>Subordinates:42</td>

    <td>Affiliations:Dungeon(Soldier), Demonic Python Gang(Boss), Assassin''s Guild (Rookie)</td>

    </tr>

    <tr>

    <td>Occupations:Tracker, Soldier</td>

    <td>Master: Reileigh, Heaven Sundering Clan''s Regulation Elder</td>

    </tr>

    <tr>

    <td>Pillar ranking: Unranked (Below 50th place)</td>

    <td>Wins: 0

    Draws:0

    Losses:153</td>

    </tr>

    </tbody>

    </table>

    When he looked at his training schedule, Dante could see that Reileigh had taken into consideration the leisuretime he had obtained thanks to his new status.

    The ''Death-Proof Training'' devised by Reileigh covered every aspect and maximised Dante''s time and merit points to the utmost.

    Every day he would have a 100 matches against the previous Death Mark holders in the Colosseum.

    Roxelane and the Armory''s administrator would give him lessons about any subject he wanted for a whopping 10 000 merit points for each lesson.

    It has to be remembered that those lessons were only an hour long...Moreover, it was compulsory for him to have at least three lessons a day from with bothof them!

    When Dante did the math and realized how much he had to make each day, he finally understood the meaning of the saying ''time is gold''.

    Dante knew that if he really wanted tokeep up with this schedule he would have to risk his own life for those Merit points.

    By doing all the math he found that he should at least make 60 000 merit points a day and that was the bare minimum.

    When he remembered how Roxelane had asked for 4000 merit points for only a single piece of information, he felt that there was a high chance that she might microtransaction him to bankruptcy.

    Dante didn''t know anything about the Armory''s administrator but he knew that he couldn''t just hope for everything to turn out for the better. He needed to be prepared.

    Dante was forced to take on every mission available until he hit the limit set by the Assassins'' Guild for every team.

    Hungry for more merit points, he ended up dragging Hong along him as they wiped out on their own three Mid-tier Mafias shaking the whole Winterlake city!

    It had been twenty years since the last time a Mid-tier Mafia was wiped out, the Underworld''s balance had been completely broken.

    In the middle of all this chaos, the Lord of Winterlake city''s Underworld, the only Top-tier Mafia in the whole city known as Exempla showed no reactions.

    Many took this silence as a sign of approval and let the Demonic Python Gang do as they please. The few gangs foolish enough to make a move were quickly met with the suppression of all the other gangs.

    If they couldn''t benefit from it, no one else could.

    ...

    ...

    Dante, Hong and the others drank to their fill to celebrate the end of Dante''s rookie training, he only had to accomplish the final Mid-tier mission before he became an official member of the Guild and they didn''t doubt hisability to do so.

    They had heard too many stories about this strange Demon, even if just a couple of them were true it would be more than enough for them to regard him as an equal.

    Their company consisted of members of the Assassins'' Guild, the lady named Alice who welcomed Dante in the beginning was there, besides her a silver-haired man who seemed her husband.

    On the other side of the table there was an old man with grey eyes which seemed to shine with wisdom, he would look at Dante from time to time with a bemused look on his face near him there was a cold youth with blue hair, since they left the Guild in the morning the youth only talked a couple of times and he would only whisper.

    It was a pretty strange gathering but they could get along thanks to Hong acting as the mediator.

    After exchanging a few more jokes and stories the group finally decided to leave the tavern, the sky had already turned dark since a long time ago and it was already approaching mid-night.

    The tavern didn''t close at night, but people would usually leave at this hour due to the Drunk Lord''s habit of taking people to his personal cellar.

    People would disappearsuddenly before being found with a blissful smile on their face weeks later on the other side of the city.

    Dante was just about to get up when he felt that something was amiss, when he looked at where the Drunk Lord usually was he found nothing.

    There was a blank spot as if a painter had ripped a piece of the canvasleaving a blank mark.

    "Am I in an illusion!?"

    Dante was shocked, he didn''t expect to end up in such a situation now, his enemy seemed to be far more powerful than him and with higher skills as the illusion couldn''t be distinguished from reality if it wasn''t for that blank space.

    "Hehehe, finally found you. The Boss will finally be forced to acknowledge my request for this contribution."

    Turning around towards the source of the voice, Dante found the towering figure of the Drunk Lord looking down at him with a smile plastered on his face.

    Dante tried to break the illusion as he channelled his mental energy in his eyes, suddenly a thin purple aura enveloped both of his eyes.

    This seemed to have an effect as the illusion began to shake weakly but nothing more.

    The Drunk Lord''s smile widened as he praised Dante.

    "Great, you are truly worthy of his attention. Go on show me your abilities little demon! The more potential you show, the better will be my chances!"

    Dante disregarded the Drunk Lord''s provocation as he entered a profound state, his focus was heightened to the limit as his bloodline began gathering on his forehead. An extremely complexruned seal appeared on Dante''s forehead as the purple aura began gathering faster and faster.

    The illusion began shaking more and more wildly, but the Drunk Lord didn''t seem to care as he only watched Dante''s display with growing excitement.

    RUUUMBLE.

    Suddenly the runed seal lightened up as it began absorbing all the purple aura that had gathered on Dante''s forehead.

    Dante''s pale gold skin turned several shades paler as the runed seal absorbed more and more purple aura.

    And then it opened.

    The runed seal released a beam of purple light as a Demonic eye appeared above the two of them.

    The Demonic eye was totally Purple in color, except for the black colored swirling vortex which made up the pupil.

    The Eye seemed to be staring coldly at all living things as everything grew still under its inquisitive gaze.

    The appearance of the Demonic eye was too much for the illusion as it suddenly shattered, now the two were in the Drunk Lord''s Divine Sea which also seemed to be affected by the Eye.

    However, the runed seal seemed to have used up all of the purple aura''s energy as it disappeared along with it the Demonic eye which slowly faded away.

    At that moment the runed seal looked like a closed eye, waiting for the day that all creation could be subjugated under its gaze.

    Dante had long since fainted while the Drunk Lord was trying to calm his ragged breath as he tried to recover from the shock.

    "This aura... It''s thousands of times fainter, but there is no doubt. It''s the same aura of Benefactor!"