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 silence descended 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 faces of 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 stare at 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 and walk 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 witness of this oath."

Pan's words provoked a reaction, as the heavens rumbled and lightning fell on him.

Unexpectedly, Pan was unfazed by the lightning as he stood there while looking at the flaming 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.

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"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.