Dante’s Immortality – Chapter 18

He awoke to someone nudging him on his side. “Hurry up, you’re going to be late.”

Dante released a groan, leaving the soft bed was the last thing on his mind… but he couldn’t be late for training.

Filling himself with determination, Dante slumped himself off the side of the bed to roll onto the floor, the hardwood floor would make waking up far more manageable. He was having a hard time seeing how a bed was even useful, he only felt more tired after sleeping in it.

That said, he didn’t consider giving it up.

Opening his eyes, he saw Mia standing over him with an impatient expression. “I already picked up your uniform.” She shoved the clothing into his arms. “This one is your combat uniform. Get dressed. You have less than an hour until the sun will start to rise.”

Still laying on the floor and half asleep, Dante nodded back to her.

Even after getting up, it took him ten full minutes to get dressed. Even while utilizing the help of the mirror in the bathroom and calling in Mia to aid him occasionally. The combat uniform had too many straps that he had no idea what to do with. After some thorough testing, and making several adjustments, he felt like he had it right.

Looking at himself in the mirror, he thought the combat uniform looked rather good. It consisted of a mostly-leather vest with a shoulder guard covering his left shoulder, and a loose covering on his right shoulder that would allow high mobility of his arm.  Several different armguard pieces covered the entirety of his left arm, and when equipped looked like a type of bracer.  The pants were somewhat standard, yet highly functional and also seemed to focus on mobility. The clothing itself was almost entirely black, and the black deer sigil of House Calman could barely be seen engraved on the center of the chest piece.

There was also a thin belt-like piece of leather that Mia wrapped around his glove to cover the red dragon ‘decoration’.  It strapped on comfortably, and didn’t move or slide when he waved his arm around to test it.

He had never worn anything that was made for him before, and found the way that the clothing fit him to be amazing. It was incredibly comfortable and took away hardly any of his mobility.

If there was one thing he wanted to change in his reflection, it would have been himself. The uniform only seemed to emphasize his thin frame.

In Alazel his lack of weight never really bothered him, he was just happy to not starve. Things had changed since arriving at the academy though, he already didn’t fit due to his hair and eyes in, he didn’t need another reason to stand out. Not to mention his experience from the night before…

Remembering Alexander saying that food was provided free by the academy, he made a mental note to eat more.

Before heading out, he decided to open his Classification tab in his Status. He should have gotten some world essence from taking out the archers in the ambush, but hadn’t had an opportunity to use it while traveling with Alexander and Layla.

World Essence waiting to be assigned: 825

Chronomancer lvl 3/10 (0/300 world essence)

Blademancer lvl 4/10 (0/400 world essence)

Blader lvl 4/10 (0/400 world essence)

Revenant lvl 4/10 (0/400 world essence)

Recent World Essence gain:

84 World Essence for killing: Warrior

623 World Essence for killing: Ranger x 6

Both the Warrior and Rangers gave him a larger amount of world essence than Roderick and Isaac, despite being of the same Classifications. It made sense, if the wolves gave him different amounts of world essence depending on strength, combatants must as well. Looking over his options, it didn’t take him long to decide which Classifications he would spend his world essence on. If he wasn’t going to be using his Chronomancer or Blademancer Classifications in the near future, there was no need to level them for the time being.

Blader has reached level 5

Attributes have been added:

+1 Dexterity

+1 Agility

Revenant has reached level 5

Attributes have been added:

+1 Strength

+1 Constitution

Leveling the two Classifications left him with 25 world essence.  Leveling done, he checked his Attributes tab to see what his stats were at.

Name: Dante

HP: 150/150

Mana: 170/170 (+1.9/sec)

Strength: 14

Constitution: 15

Dexterity: 20 (+2.4)

Agility: 14 (+1.68)

Intelligence: 17

Wisdom: 19

Charisma: 6

Dante did a doubletake when he looked at his attributes. Two changes left him thoroughly confused. Both his Strength and Charisma were higher than they should have been. Strength went up by 1 point from where it should be, which might be understandable, he had been eating better recently, and it was possible that his Strength increased from that. The Charisma increase made no sense though. To increase Charisma, one would need to improve the way they interact with others or make themselves look more appealing.

One thing he knew, was that he couldn’t possibly have improved his Charisma through his recent interactions with others. If anything, he would have thought that his Charisma would have dropped, not been raised by 2 points.

It was possible that the long bath he took the night before had some influence, but he thought it unlikely. He would often bathe in one of the small rivers that cut through Alazel before he got his Status, so the act of bathing shouldn’t have too large of an impact.

Since he was at the academy, he put learning more about Charisma on his to-do list. He had a basic understanding of it, that it helped with interpersonal relations, but that was all. Finished with his Status, he headed out of the bathroom intent on getting to his Swordsmanship training in time.

Mia saw Dante come out of his bedroom and move toward the front door.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re not going anywhere until you eat your breakfast.” She pointed towards the table in the middle of the room.

The table itself was entirely covered in different fruit, meat, pastries, and egg dishes. Dante just stared at it. He had never, in his life, seen so much prepared food in one place. “Did you make all of this?” His tone was full of amazement.

Mia blushed slightly. “No. Food is sent to all of the servants of Housing District 1 daily, we only have to prepare a few of the dishes.”

Dante wasted no time, running to the table and digging into the food. If he could eat like this daily putting on weight wouldn’t be a problem.

Shortly after he started to eat, he noticed that Mia was just standing next to the table in silence. “Aren’t you going to eat too?”

She shook her head. “No, I’ll eat with the other servants while you are doing your Swordsmanship training.”

Dante’s head slightly tilted to the side in confusion. “That doesn’t make any sense, there is no way I can eat all of this.” He pointed at the other dishes with the fork in his hand.

“It wouldn’t be proper for me to eat with you.”

One of Dante’s eyebrows quirked up. “Yes, I wouldn’t want you acting improperly.” He pointed to a chair. “Just sit down, based on the treatment I’ve gotten so far I’m sure this food is better than what they give the servants.”

She heaved a sigh and sat down across from him on the circle table. They both ate in silence, but he had a slight smile on his face the entire time. Even though he did want Mia to eat the food because it would be better than what the servants got, the real reason he wanted Mia to eat with him was a far more selfish one.

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He had never eaten at a table with another person before, and wanted to know what it would be like. Of course, traveling on the road with both Edward and Sam, as well as Alexander and Layla, he had eaten road rations with others. But for his first time eating at a table, he would much rather do it with someone else, and so far, he was enjoying it.

After breakfast, Mia escorted him to yard one. It was also relatively close to Housing District 1, only a few minutes’ walk, and he was starting to get the feeling that the academy was divided by status far more than he had initially thought. Since he had arrived at the academy, not only had he not interacted with any commoner students, but all of his immediate needs were also close to Housing District 1. The only exception to the rule so far was the hospital. He was more than happy with its location though, he would need it far more by the arena.

Yard one was easily identifiable. Not only were there a multitude of different looking training devices and dummies on a massive field to practice combat with, but the grass itself was strange. It was blue, which was something he had never seen before.

Dante turned to Mia, who was about to leave him. “Why is the grass blue.”

Mia waved her hand dismissively. “It’s just a show of wealth for petty nobles. The grass is blue from some alchemist’s potion. It makes the grass resistant to mana, and tougher, which is a big help when combatants are constantly practicing their skills on it. In other words, it’s just as useful as the dirt that covers the other yards within the academy.”

Dante’s eyes went wide at her explanation, he knew next to nothing about alchemists, but thought the blue grass would be amazingly useful. “Does that potion work on everything?” If he could use it on his clothes, it would both make them tougher and mana resistant.

Mia’s laughing answer gave him a good idea of how absurd his question was. “No, the grass is changed by infusing the seeds. That particular potion only works on vegetation. It wouldn’t matter though, it’s a blue potion, so the effects are weak, and only effective for protection against new combatants’ attacks. That’s why it is just a show of wealth.” She turned to leave. “Alright, I’ll be here when your training is over.”

Dante waved goodbye and turned to the training yard. Only a few other students were waiting, which he thought was strange because there was over double that number in what he thought were instructors.

There were two reasons why he thought they were the instructors, the first was because they were all older and intimidating. Most of them staring at the other students with what seemed to be disdain. The second reason was Sir Andres, who standing among them.

As Dante walked into the yard, Sir Andres noticed him. “Ah. Dante, you managed to make it on time. Go ahead and get lined up.” The ‘line’ was a group of around twenty other students who were all dressed identically to him in the combat uniform of the academy. Without waiting, Dante stepped into line with them, imitating their squared shoulders as they stared at the instructors in silence.

They waited for around for almost an hour, when the sun was fully into the sky, before the instructors began to issue orders. In that time, a noble or two would periodically show up. He guessed that there were around forty of them now, roughly equal to the number of instructors.

He assumed that they were waiting for all the nobles before they started the lesson, which is why they waited until the sun was in the sky instead of first light like Mia had told him. But he seemed to be proven wrong when almost half of the instructors were dismissed by Sir Andres.

Sir Andres spoke up to address the ones that remained. “Alright, I guess this is the best we can expect… we will choose in order of rank this quarter.” He stopped and glared at a burly bald man who had a wide smile on his face. “Happy? I don’t want any funny business like last semester.”

The bald man happily nodded. “Of course.”

Seeing the man’s expression, Sir Andres looked doubtful. “Alright, get on with it then.”

The bald man began walking down the line of nobles, a smile on his face as he pushed and prodded the ones he found to be of some interest. He would inspect one, back up and rub his chin, then mutter to himself for a moment before moving to the next.

Dante was no exception. As soon as the burly man saw Dante, his eyes lit up, and he started to push and prod him. Muttering to himself as he moved to the next person in line.

The bald man continued for several minutes, not finishing until he checked over everyone, while Sir Andres was rubbing the crook of his nose in agitation for the entirety of the process.

“Alright Archie, you’ve had your fun. Just pick your student.” Sir Andres seemed to be running out of patience.

“Alright, I pick him.” He pointed at one of the stockier nobles in the line. The boy was large, at least 6 feet tall already, and had a mop of blond curls. He couldn’t really tell whether the boy was happy to be chosen or not. Much like the instructor, the noble was already smiling, and his expression didn’t change at all, there was just a quick nod.

Sir Andres gave a relieved sigh. “Alright next Sir Car-”

“I also want the weird looking one.” The instructor pointed directly at Dante.

Sir Andres didn’t answer, just groaned. He didn’t need to answer, another instructor was quick to speak up. “You can’t choose two. It’s my pick, wait until your next turn.”

The instructor who chose him, Archie, just turned to the man who spoke with a good-natured smile. “There’s no need to wait until my next pick, why don’t we just duel for him?” He gripped the pommel of his sword.

The one who had spoken up was still furious, but a look of hesitation crossed his face. “I don’t want him, but it’s the principal of the matter. You should act befitting of your title as a knight of House Calman.”

Are all of these instructors knights?

“But I’m not just a knight.” Even though he was still smiling, the tone was menacing. Archie winked at the other instructor, and the man flinched.

Sir Andres jumped in before things could get out of hand. “For the love of the Goddess, just take the two of them.” He glared at Archie. “But if you cause me any more problems today…” He let the threat hang in the air.

Archie just smiled and nodded at Sir Andres’ words.

Dante wasn’t going to complain. If he had to choose an instructor to teach him Swordsmanship, he wanted the strongest one, and Archie definitely seemed like he had some power to back up his domineering behavior.

Sir Andres sharply inhaled in agitation, then turned to the other instructors. “Alright, now that the only potential problem has been handled, I’ll let the rest of you take care of it. I need to check the other yards and make sure that there aren’t any issues.”

After Sir Andres left the other instructors began to choose their students. None of them walked forward to inspect them, they just pointed to one of the students when it was their turn.

Archie just ignored them, stepping forward he put a hand on Dante’s shoulder and led him toward the other boy he chose. After getting to him, Archie pulled them both off to one side of the yard. Then, he cupped his hands together to yell loudly. “Yard boy, get us 20 wooden swords.” He paused for a moment, then almost as an afterthought. “Oh, and bring over a healer as well.”

Why would we need twenty wooden swords… and more importantly a healer?

Archie turned back to the two of them with a smile. “Alright, what are your names and houses?”

The other boy who was also smiling replied first. “I am William, but you can call me Will, of House Savion.”

They both looked at Dante, still smiling, which somehow made the situation worse. “My name is Dante, and I don’t come from a noble house.”

Archie, who scratched his chin, just nodded. “Hmm, Interesting.”

William, or Will, didn’t even seem to register his words, or didn’t seem to care. “Why do you look like that?” He didn’t say it mockingly, but as if genuinely curious.

“I’m not sure…”

Archie waved the two of them to be quiet. “You two can socialize later.” He addressed Dante. “What do you know about world essence manipulation?”

“Nothing…”

Archie smiled and nodded. “Good, good.” Turning to Will. “You?”

Will looked up as if considering. “I have a good grasp on the basics, but I’ve never actually tried it.”

“That’s perfect, you’ll both be starting at basically the same time then. For the next three months you two will be sparring partners, so I would suggest that whoever is weaker doesn’t piss off the stronger one… Now, where are those blasted swords?”

Just as he said the words, two people ran up. A boy carrying a bundle of wooden swords followed by a middle-aged woman in a priest’s outfit. Archie picked up two swords and tossed them both one each. “Alright Dante, the basics are pretty simple. Pretty much all you have to do is manipulate the world essence around you into the weapon.” He stopped as if waiting for him to start.

That is the explanation for world essence manipulation?

Archie noticed his confused expression and seemed to remember something. “Oh, that’s right. I would recommend only doing a small amount to start off with, if you don’t want to die. If you lose control, the sword will explode…”

That was his afterthought?

Will was just standing to the side, he looked quite happy to not be involved in the situation. Dante cleared his throat. “Perhaps you could give me a demonstration first?”

Archie scratched his head. “Hmm, maybe I should have started with a demonstration.”

He picked a sword out of the pile. As soon as he held the sword aloft, a blue glow covered it. It quickly became more and more dense as Archie put more world essence into it. “Right now, I am adding world essence until it is at a level that I am comfortable with. The better your control of world essence, the more you can add.”

“It will take you a while to be able to control a useable amount of world essence, but after its done, you have several options. In this stage, the world essence is useless and doesn’t improve the performance of the sword, but…” Archie’s eyebrows knit together slightly as he focused on the weapon. Slowly the world essence near the blade of the sword began to collapse in on itself, becoming narrower, almost as if there was a dull blue edge of a sword covering his original sword.

The now slightly pale-faced Archie began to teach again. “This is the swordsmanship I practice, edge control world essence manipulation, the world essence edge covering the sword is far more destructive that of a regular weapon.  It is the standard type of world essence control, and about ninety percent of combatants practice it.”

Archie swung the sword at the ground, and Dante watched openmouthed as he saw the sword slash a trench into the ground below him. Anywhere the blue glow touched, the dirt seemed to just disappear. “The better your control, the sharper of an edge you can create, and the more world essence you can pack into it.”

“Of course, there are more advanced ways to manipulate world essence in a weapon, but most people never use them. It’s hard enough to learn one type of Swordsmanship control, learning a second is impossible for the average combatant… Also, I would recommend you also learn this edge control Swordsmanship, or you will have a tricky time getting through Mana shields in the arena.”

Archie wasn’t done. “Now I will show you what happens when you lose control of the world essence within the weapon.” He held the sword aloft, and the world essence began to dim until it was barely glowing. “I am lowering the world essence to a level that won't cause too much damage, this should give you an idea of what to expect if you lose control.” He flung the sword into the air. The sword exploded with a loud bang, hurling wooden shards that bounced off of Archie and embedded into any objects in the nearby vicinity.

What in the fuck… No way is that happening in my hand.

Archie noticed Dante’s expression and laughed. “Now you know why I called for the healer.  If either of you loses control, it won’t be nearly that tame.” His smile seemed far more menacing now. “Alright, you got your demonstration. Get to it.”

Dante just stared at the instructor, eye twitching. He was going to let him try to do that without an explanation first?

Dante let out a deep breath, calming his anxiety. He began to feed world essence into the wooden sword. It took far more world essence than he thought it would, and all he had to use all of his concentration.

In his periphery, he could see Archie, Will, and the healer all backup. It was quite obvious why they were doing it, but as soon as he noticed them, his concentration lapsed.

All he heard was a loud bang, and then felt pain erupt all over his body.

Dante fell to his knees, trying not to scream out in pain while he cursed Archie in his mind. He looked down at the pommel of the wooden sword that was still in his hand. It was completely intact, the tip of the sword was the part that shattered, embedding shards into seemingly every section of his body.

Archie walked up with the healer. “Alright, get him patched up before he loses too much blood.” He turned back to Dante with a smile. “Now that you know what it feels like when you lose control, I’ll teach you how to control it. You actually did better than I thought.” The man must have thought his joke was funny, because as soon as he stopped talking, he started to laugh.

Dante just stared at the wooden pommel in his hand as he heard Archie’s words. 

I’m going to kill him…