"You really are full of friends, Dante. Okay, do you know what a dimensional ring is?" said Isaac.
Dante searched his memory for that information.
"They are jewelry that allows you to carry something inside them? I've heard of it, but I've never seen one."
"My congratulations then," Isaac said as he handed a ring to Dante. "Dimensional ring, Dante. Dante, dimensional ring. I wish you a long and lasting relationship."
Without understanding, Dante looked at the ring and put it on his finger. Quickly, he felt that inside there was like a pouch of Qi, which passed to him intuitively instructions about how it should be used.
"Thank you, master, but you didn't need to give it to me," Dante said ungraciously. He had never been good at receiving gifts. And he didn't have exactly many possessions by now.
"Thank you? Ahhh, you see, not really. You're the one who paid, so if you have anyone to say thank you to, it's for yourself," Isaac said with a smile.
Startled, Dante picked up his badge. Ten thousand points had been subtracted from it! At that moment, he understood what Rim had meant earlier. Who knew that the almighty Isaac was a bit of a control freak deep down.
"You know, if they weren't so curious to see you acting like that, I'd kind of be mad," Dante said teasingly.
Shrugging, Isaac called him and the rest of the team members over. He then told everyone that they would be leaving the next morning, and that they should all get a good night's sleep.
The next day would mark the beginning of a new journey.
--
While Dante waited for the others in the lobby, he took the opportunity to check how the points ranking was going.
With each passing day, the gap between those at the top was getting wider. To enter the top 100, over 40.000 points were needed. Twice as many as Dante had accumulated up to that point.
He didn't feel discouraged about the abysm he would have to go through. All that was going through his mind at the moment was the anxiety of seeing what results his new training would bring.
"Good morning. You filled your new item with supplies needed for the new expedition, I suppose?" asked Isaac.
Dante jumped slightly upon hearing Isaac's voice. The master had a strange habit of not giving notice when he was around. "Yes, master," Dante said, as he once again analyzed the contents of his new dimensional space. He didn't really understand how such items worked. Since the handling was intuitive, however, he had other more important things to worry about.
His ring space was like a medium-sized closet. The day before, he had filled the space mostly with food that would not spoil and water. He was also taking a pillow and some blankets, just in case.
"Gooood day! Who's ready to set off some monsters?" Rim was energetic as usual. Dante still couldn't understand how someone could present such a mood in the morning hours. Even with his Qi being strengthened by the sunrise, it was still difficult to wake up happy.
It didn't take long before Hector and Sabrina joined them.
"Everyone ready?" Isaac had told them where they should go last night, after they had made reservations for the new rooms.
According to him, there were several rooms that could be changed to any type of Qi, as long as the price was paid. So, they chose two compatible ones, one with Metal Qi and one with Shadow Qi. Hector would just bring some sacred treasures, given that the ice Qi area was easily accessible.
As they reviewed the map of the region for the last time, Dante could barely contain his anxiety. He felt more prepared than ever to go with the others, now that he had developed his new technique.
The path to the place where they would go underground was trouble-free. Although Isaac had said that he could not interfere in any kind of combat if there was no serious risk to life, his presence alone was enough to scare off any monster or member of the Draco clan.
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After a few hours of walking, they arrived at the point of interest. A door protruded into the ground, wide enough for at least two elephants to pass through simultaneously.
"Wow. And to think this sub-level was below us the whole time..." Despite being better informed than Sabrina and Dante, Rim did not have extensive knowledge of how the selection tests for Slayers worked.
In fact, she sometimes suspected that she had only been chosen to do this secret mission to keep Hector company. Looking at the ice cultivator, it wasn't hard to understand why that was.
He moved with a steadiness typical of cultivators of his potential. He walked as if the horizon held no secrets, and everything was within reach of his power. As if just one touch from his hand was enough to freeze everything and everyone.
"Check your belongings, people, one more time. From here on we have one more day to travel until we reach our destination," Isaac said.
As no complaints were raised, they started down the stairs, all together. There was more than enough room.
"It's no wonder that every cultivator's dream is to be a slayer. This kind of resource... Hardly any clan can achieve anything even close," said Dante, as he admired the way down to the sublevel.
On the walls, torches crackled on metal supports. The black metal was adorned with sapphires, so that the path looked more like an entrance to some kind of luxurious space. As they descended, the light on the surface disappeared. The only remaining source of illumination were the torches, which left nothing to be desired.
Dante initially thought that the sublevel was just a tunnel that went beneath the school grounds. It turned out that, in fact, the environment was a much larger place than he had imagined.
When they reached the ground, the environment expanded into a huge cavern. The ceiling was supported by the rocky walls, which carried, without exception, torches to illuminate the environment.
"Incredible... I can't imagine how big it is here. It's like a sea of shadows on all sides." Sabrina seemed not to know where to look, turning her head in different directions constantly.
Her senses, which had their range expanded by other shadows, were all beeping at the same time. She could sense monsters in all directions. Monsters exponentially stronger than the ones inhabiting the surface.
"Welcome, children, to the place where teenagers play. I ask that we all be careful until we reach the rooms in which Sabrina and Rim will cultivate. The monsters here, besides being inherently stronger than those on the surface, are also more... experienced."
"More accustomed to killing those who come here without being strong enough, you say?" added Rim, with an inquisitive look.
"Precisely. It's common for there not to be many deaths in the first phase of the test, but everything changes from now on. Class C monsters, and even Class B monsters, well, you guys felt it in your skin the damaged caused by Professor Fig."
Dante's Qi reacted to the memory, circulating through his channels as if a fight was near. The strength shown by the teacher was so great that even now he was in awe of what had happened.
"Besides the rooms we've reserved, you can also find monsters of different Qi types around here, right? Just like in the upper region," Hector asked inquisitively.
Dante didn't know why Hector hadn't booked a room, but he had a feeling he would find out soon.
Taking a deep breath, as if he had reached the limit of his daily questions, Isaac answered, "Yes, that's right. Although the reserved rooms are unbeatable when it comes to the richness of the Qi aura, it is also possible to find lots of spiritual treasures on this floor. In addition, many students begin from now on not to surrender the entire essence of the monsters they absorb. As there is so much variety here, it is sometimes worth using the essence directly to progress. It's a good option for those who can't afford to reserve rooms."
"Got it. So, Dante, let's keep an eye out in case we sense any of our Qi types on the way. As long as Rim and Sabrina cultivate, we cannot stand still."
Dante nodded, looking at Isaac next. Should they continue with the same schedule scheme as before, Dante would still have a good part of the day to train without his teacher, because special training would only occur in the evening.
"Good point." Isaac then activated his dimensional ring, removing four scrolls from there.
Handing one to each of the students, it didn't take long for them to notice that the scrolls comprised a kind of map, similar to the one Zuberi had shown them in the explanation, but without the regions described.
"There is no fixed map of the Qi types down here, mainly because the ecosystem changes all the time. It is good for everyone to be careful to note the Qi types of the monsters on the way, so you can come back later if there is some that interest you. Dante, this is especially important for you. All the Qi types here will be stronger than those on the surface. Also, if you take advantage of it, your core will certainly grow stronger because of it."
Sabrina was inquiring, looking into the shadows. Turning her attention this time to the group, she looked decisively at Isaac. "Professor, are you allowed to help us like this? I'm not complaining, but wouldn't it be unfair for someone of your caliber to help us in this way? It will certainly be an advantage over the other participants."
With a smile similar to the one witnessed when he had introduced himself to the group, Isaac looked each of them in the eye.
"Unfair? you bet. But tell me, when has the world of cultivation ever been a fair world?"
And then, everyone set off through the caves of the aquamarine school.
Dante didn't know if the plan would work out, but for the first time since the month began, he wasn't that distressed. Even if everything did not go according to plan, this time he was not alone.
This time, he had friends to share the burden.