Dante’s Immortality - Chapter 43
Archie didn’t stop at just killing the first archer, he immediately charged the second.
The archer reacted immediately and shot at Archie’s charging form. He must have used a skill because the force of the arrow was absolutely staggering, it had the same strength as when they had almost split the tree earlier.
Archie seemed to take the attack in stride, his sword filled with world essence instantly and obliterated the arrow as he sliced it out of the air.
The instructor had clearly been holding back on him, his world essence control was the best he had seen so far, aside from possibly Mia.
“Stop!” The man who was restraining him seemed to be horrified, but he hadn’t broken contact yet and was still blocking his skills. “Archie, have you lost your mind?”
The archer leaped backward, away from Archie’s nearing form, and he would have continued watching if not for the scream that he heard coming from Tabitha’s group.
Dante glanced over to see Tabitha laying waste to the third member of her group, two others were at her feet while the fourth was screaming as he turned to run away. Tabitha glanced over at her fleeing group member, then threw her sword.
Its flight path was unnatural, curving in the air slightly and taking the man straight through his back and toppling him from his horse.
To his right, Dante heard a gurgled groan and turned to see Archie finish off the archer.
“What in the hell is going on?” The Forsaker Classification that was holding him down was becoming hysterical as he watched both Archie and Tabitha finish their slaughter, but he still didn’t let go. His hold seemed to change though, now using Dante as more of a shield than anything else.
He had to admit, the man had a valid question.
Tabitha released a sigh as she rubbed her eyes. “What a mess.”
Archie began to walk back toward him. “They were bonded by a contract anyways, probably the best death they could have gotten.”
The man holding him began to yank him backward as he tried to escape Archie. “Stay away from me.”
Tabitha rolled her eyes. “Obviously, but how in the hell am I supposed to explain this? Father is already under suspicion for what he did to help out during the fighting.”
Archie brushed her comment off. “I’m sure it will be fine.” Then he flashed the man holding Dante a smile. “How about we make a deal? You let go of him, and I let you live.”
“Okay.” The man said it quickly. “Okay, here you go. You can have him. Just let me go.” He felt himself being shoved away.
And I thought that I could be naïve…
He didn’t wait for the combatant to reconsider, and Blinked away.
“Wait, wait, wait-” Those were the last words that he heard before the sound of flesh being sliced reached his ears.
Dante turned back to Archie, keeping Tabitha in his vision. Neither of them were making a move for him. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he assumed that he would get an explanation since he wasn’t being attacked.
He was more than willing to hear them out. Any time that they wasted talking would only give him more mana, and a better chance to escape.
Archie knelt by the man he just killed, cleaning off his sword on the dead man’s clothing. “I suggest that you return to the academy before more problems arise.”
He was about to say something, thinking that Archie was talking to him, but Tabitha nodded as she got back on top of her horse and rode off into the dense forest.
Archie stood up and flashed him a smile. “Killing the Tracker first was good thinking, but in the future, it may be a good idea to keep track of all the opposing combatants.” He pointed to the Forsaker Classification’s corpse.
That was a rather large mistake…
Dante gave a reluctant nod of agreement.
Archie barked out a short laugh. “And to think that some people think my method of teaching is too extreme. If you don’t make a mistake yourself, you won’t take the lesson seriously.”
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Archie saw Dante’s lack of enthusiasm and cleared his throat. “Anyways, I’m not here to play teacher today.” He paused to dig through a pocket in his jacket. “Today, I come bearing gifts.” Archie said it magnanimously, a smile still plastered on his face. He pulled out a black sack that seemed to be too large to fit in the pocket, then tossed it to him.
Dante made no move to catch the sack, and it fell to the floor.
Archie had a fake look of mortification on his face. “How rude. The person who sent it will be so sad when he hears you didn’t take the bag.”
Archie paused as if his words alone would be enough for him to change his mind. Then, when he didn’t move, he continued. “Your chances of actually making it out of the Calmans reach will be far better with what’s in the sack.”
That caught his attention, but he wasn’t willing to lose one collar to gain another. Dante walked backward, then motioned to the bag. “You open it first.”
Archie shrugged and walked toward the bag. “Can’t fault you for actually thinking.”
He couldn’t hold in his curiosity. “Who sent the bag… and why did they send it?”
Archie picked up the sack and began to untie the knot in the drawstrings. “Well, that’s a tricky question. You don’t know him, but you know his… goddaughter, Mia.” Dante’s eyebrows rose. “As to why he would send it to you, there are two reasons.”
Archie opened the bag, then showed him that it wasn’t rigged and tossed it to him. Dante caught it this time, unwilling to let go. “The first reason is that he has a vested interest in your escape from the Calmans. As for the second… well, just consider it as a type of thank you.”
Those words sent a feeling of pain stabbing through him. Mia’s godfather wanted to thank him? “Thank me for what?” He tried to restrain himself, but the words were filled with his bitter emotions.
Archie seemed to have missed the implication in his tone and just shrugged. “Who knows? Ever since the Calmans brought you to the academy, you have been watched. By everyone.” He looked like he was going to say something else on the topic, but stopped himself. “But if I were you I would stop asking questions, my group isn’t going to be the only one with a Tracker hunting you.”
That was a valid point, Dante reached into the black bag and pulled out its contents. It had one jar, two vials, and one pair of well-made enchanted boots.
Archie pointed at the smaller vial. “You may want to use that immediately, it will hide your scent from a tracker, just apply one drop to your skin every day.”
Dante examined it. Something that was so useful needed to be used immediately. He tossed the vial to Archie, who caught it. “You use it first.”
Archie shrugged. “It would be something of a waste, but whatever.” Archie unstoppered the vial and tilted it until a single drop fell into his hand. Then he replaced the stopper and tossed it back.
There was still a chance that it was poisoned, and Archie just had the antidote, but it was a risk that he needed to take if other Trackers were really on their way. Dante unstoppered the vial and let a drop fall to his hand, just like Archie had. There was no change in the way he felt physically, but the peace of mind the small drop of liquid offered already made him feel far better.
Archie nodded, then pointed to the jar. “That is alchemic hair dye, it should last you quite a while and be a big help.” Then he pointed at the last vial. “And that little beauty is priceless, it was created specifically for you. One drop into each of your eyes will turn them black for a few months, there should be enough to last you quite a while…”
How powerful is Mia’s godfather to be able to just give me these things… and if he is this powerful, why was she collared?
Then Archie pointed to the enchanted boots. “Those will allow you to slip by detection enchantments unnoticed.” Archie cleared his throat. “They might be particularly useful if you want to make it out of a noble’s reach.”
Dante’s eyes widened. He examined the boots, checking the enchantment over carefully. His knowledge of enchantments was still somewhat limited, but he could tell that it focused its energy downward, away from the user. Making them safe to test at the very least.
If Archie was hinting at what he thought, it might be possible that the boots would help him get over the wasteland border…
Archie saw the expression on his face and smiled in satisfaction. “The Calmans aren’t the only house with a long reach and greedy fingers, although they are by far the worst…” He cleared his throat. “Still, I would suggest you make haste in your escape.”
Archie looked at him for confirmation, and he nodded.
“Good, I’m glad you understand.” Archie’s face lit up with a broad smile. “You’re still young, there is no need to rush into any… unfortunate circumstances.” After saying that, Archie waved goodbye to him and turned and disappeared into the forest.
That’s it?
Dante let out a breath of relief. He felt like he was going to go insane, even Archie wasn’t who he thought he was… but he wasn’t going to complain about it given the circumstances.
He was now alone in the clearing, holding the bag that Archie had given him like a lifeline. Each item was priceless. He couldn’t understand how someone related to Mia could have been able to afford them and just give them out as a gift.
Was he the one who attacked the academy?
It was possible, but unlikely. If someone that powerful was truly related to Mia, they would have helped her when she was still alive.
But Tabitha did say that her father helped in the fighting… and she and Archie were clearly on the same side.
Mia’s godfather was someone he needed to look into in the future. Regardless of his intentions, he owed him a huge debt.
He glanced over at the corpses of the men that Archie and Tabitha killed, he had some misgivings about feeding his glove any more blood, but he decided that he couldn’t miss the opportunity to get new Classifications.
Dante walked over to the corpse of the Forsaker. He inserted his hand into the corpse and then examined it. It took a moment, but the Forsaker Classification came into existence on the glove. He checked the two archer’s Classifications, but they were just Ranger Classifications, which he already had. He then checked the ones Tabitha killed, but they were all Warriors.
Then, almost as an afterthought, Dante reached down and took one of the corpses combatant's glove. Immediately wearing it, and placing his glove in the black sack.
That done, Dante threw the bag over his shoulder and Blinked into the treetops. The vial that hid his scent from Trackers and the boots seemed somewhat safe, but he wasn’t going to use the hair or eye dye until he tested them.
He set off, jumping and Blinking through the treetops to keep his tracks off of the forest floor.