As Dante went back to his room, he took the opportunity to recap the first steps in creating his techniques.

According to Isaac, it was paramount that Dante carefully observed the way his Qi worked. The master had explained that Qi always has some sort of predilection. The key to finding a path that linked the cultivator's Qi and physique harmoniously was to know each of the elements well.

Dante thought of Sabrina's Qi, for example, which took the form of several shadow hands. She had said that she could use other forms, but she preferred that one. Dante had to find his form.

On the other hand, it seemed that Dante's physique was no longer a mystery. Although peculiar, he basically had a high regeneration rate. The thing that made him special was the abnormal functioning of his Qi when Dante suffered some damage.

Thinking back to the time he had hunted monsters, Dante had an idea that his Qi would be more of a strengthening type. Finally, since he had lost his old Qi, he could no longer use his old technique of expelling concentrated Qi from his fist like before. The energy generated by the attack was now more powerful, but the range was worse.

Although he was fully focused on the world inside his head, he quickly went into a state of alertness as he approached the door leading to the common room and came across a damaged lock.

Circulating his Qi preemptively, he prepared to enter the room. Since he didn't know exactly the limits of interaction with other disciples, it was prudent to assume that this was a sign of attack.

Jumping quickly over the door, he entered the room in fighting stance, ready to deliver agile and precise blows. Or at least try to.

Agile and precise, however, was the way he was stuck to the wall by a large block of ice. The speed and precision of the attack made Dante realize again that, although he had evolved rapidly in the last few days, there was still a chasm of difference between him and Hector.

Hector, in fact, rushed toward him, shattering the ice to free the boy.

"Sorry. Come and sit with us, I think we need to talk," Hector said, his expression free of its usual calmness.

Dante couldn't help but remember a saying his grandfather had spoken. There was no greater danger than the anger of a quiet man.

Walking over to the sofas, Dante saw that Sabrina and Rim were present, although both were behaving differently than usual.

Rim was tossing a metal ball from one hand to the other, lost in whatever thought took over her head. Sabrina nodded quickly to Dante as he sat down on the couch, but her expression showed neither red cheeks nor grim ambition as usual.

"What happened? I'm getting worried,” asked Dante, nervous about the situation. As if the damaged door was not enough, the expression worn by those present was not the most cheerful.

With a long sigh that was enough to snap Rim and Sabrina out of their trance, Hector said, "After you and Sabrina got back from hunting today, the three of us went to get something to eat. When we got back here, we found the room door broken in, as well as the one to the bedrooms."

At that moment, a primal terror took over Dante, whose legs almost lifted his body and set off toward his room. Before he could get up, however, Rim intervened.

"Easy there, hothead. They just went through one of our rooms."

The direction of Rim's gaze left no doubt. Sabrina could barely look up, with tears in her eyes.

She quickly got up and went to her room, closing what was left of her door. Just as Dante got up to go after the girl, he felt Hector's firm hand on his shoulder.

"Now is not the time. Leave her alone for a while. We need to discuss how we will act from now on."

Past the moment when his instinct was to help Sabrina, Dante felt a flame ignite inside his chest.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"What did they steal? Who did this?"

"Who do you think, Dante? It was those shits from the Draco clan. Sabrina didn't say exactly what they took, but it's not hard to see that it was something very important to her."

Rising, Qi running free through his channels, Dante said, "and what are we waiting for? Let's go get it back."

"Whoa there, easy, easy," Hector said, trying to reassure Dante. At least for the moment. "We're as mad as you are, but it's no use if we go and confront someone in the clan. Although we have a vague idea who it was, rumor has it that their top 1 is now a gold, so we are at a distinct disadvantage."

Sure. Again, Dante could do nothing. His only attitude was to sit and wait, like a beautiful loser.

Seeing the look of disappointment on the boy's face, Rim said, “Don't be so hard on yourself. I want to kill those sons of bitches and give the remains to F-Class monsters to eat, but now is not the time. What I suggest is that we plan our revenge in more detail, and from now on we should be more careful. I'm sure this won't be their last attack."

"Who do you guys think it was?" asked Dante. If they were going to plan it, he might as well know who the prime suspect was.

"We think it was Lou Draco, current rank 2 in the score. He is the second strongest in the clan, behind only Zhen. Rim will be in charge of reinforcing the security of our room, but I think it's good that we arrange to go out together to hunt monsters. Not that we have to stay together all the time, but at least at a distance where we can help if needed."

Rim agreed with Hector, shaking her head. It was rare to see the red-haired girl so serious.

Dante didn't know how to feel about the new information. At least the suspect was not the current top one in the ranking. Not that it would make much difference to him, after all, either one would be more than enough to crush him.

"As for the second part of the plan," Hector continued, "Rim and I will give our mission a break due to circumstances. We've already gotten most of the information we needed. Thus, I think the next logical step is to have Rim, Sabrina and myself ascend to gold. With dedication, I think Rim can be ready in about the same time as Sabrina and I, that is, in a couple of weeks."

Dante nodded in agreement. The plan made sense. He was sure that Sabrina, if she was at the same cultivation level as her opponents, would not be defeated easily.

"I will focus on my training as well, just as you must do. Starting tomorrow, we will all go out together."

"Please, Dante, take care of her," Rim said, looking at the ground. "I think you are the one who can best help her," said Rim.

It didn't take long for them to clean the debris from the floor. Hector froze the gaps, so that the place would be relatively safe until Rim had time to provide new parts for the improvements.

Then Hector and Rim went to their rooms, quietly.

Dante realized without difficulty that neither of them had gone to sleep. From the sound of it, Rim was working on some invention, while the extremely cold aura that even the door to Hector's room could not contain indicated that he was cultivating.

Not sure how to proceed, Dante went to the door of Sabrina's room. What should he do? knock on the door, call her name?

With no better options, he knocked on the broken wood three times. When he got no response, he tried the other alternative.

"Sabrina, may I come in?"

Dante thought she hadn't listened. If she had, he was ignored. However, just as he was turning to leave, he heard a sensitive, hurt voice.

"You may."

Entering Sabrina's room, Dante noticed that she had sealed the windows, so that the sun would not enter her room in the mornings. He wondered how she could wake up so early, even without the guidance of light.

The room seemed much more comfortable than Dante had imagined. On the bed, there were more pillows than he could count. The only indication of the recent attack was a broken drawer, which was now empty.

Locating Sabrina on the floor, cuddled in a pillow, Dante moved closer. Not wanting to invade her personal space, he sat down next to her, at a comfortable distance.

Not knowing what to say, he just sat there.

The sounds that came over the next few minutes were the worst Dante had ever heard. Even the noises of monsters attacking him, of his flesh being pierced, nothing could compare to the girl's sobbing and unbearable crying.

After some time - Dante wasn't sure how long - Sabrina broke the silence.

"Sorry. It's just... my family left a long time ago, you see. What they took...were the last things I had of them." She almost couldn't finish the last sentence without collapsing in tears, again.

In that hour, all the uncertainty of whether Dante would be strong enough to get Sabrina's personal belongings back was taken over by the absolute conviction that he soon would.

Even if unconsciously, the flow of his Qi began to warm the atmosphere. It didn't take long for Sabrina to notice the change, snuggling further into the pillow that was on her lap.

"Don't worry, they'll pay for every tear you're shedding."

Clenching her eyes as if she had found absolute certainty in life, she said, "Yes. They will."

After that, silence was the tone of the conversation between the two of them.

Dante didn't know how much time had passed, he just sat there. A while later, he felt a peculiar sensation on his shoulder. Sabrina had put a pillow there, and was lying down next to him.

It didn't take long for the boy to fall asleep as well, trying hard not to move a single muscle.

This was the kind of moment that deserved to be remembered forever. Before he closed his eyes, he looked at Sabrina one more time. Counting each squiggle of her form, he allowed himself to fall asleep.

That bastards would pay, and pay dearly.