"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 level you 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 because I 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 then it would have been impossible for you 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?

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

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 you were 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."