Novels2Search

Chp. 5, Sorting through the noise

Dante's mind clouded with the dozens of pings from system messages. Dante closed his eyes and waited for them to cease, and after a moment the pings did cease. Dante opened his eyes to see a wall of notices. He decided that he needed to sort through them and take this one step at a time.

Dante felt concerned as he had been without Virgil during his confrontation with the Crimson King. "Virgil!" Dante cried out, and to his joy and relief he felt the skill activate without issue. A moment later the figure of Virgil, cloaked in all in black, apperated into his room, his "skin" radiating soft light. Upon his head he wore what appeared to be a small, thin, blue circlet.

'Is this crown affecting Virgil?' Dante thought, "Virgil?" The figure of Virgil immediately began to take a knee whilst placing a hand over where a human's heart would be.

"My prince..." Virgil froze, his expression becoming blank for a moment.

"Shit! Did I break him?" Dante said aloud. Virgil slowly stood once more and looked up towards Dante, immediately noticing the crown. He raised up his hands feeling upon his own head noticing the circlet.

"Dante?...If I may still call you that?" Virgil spoke hesitantly. He was clearly uncertain as to what was going on.

"I'm no prince or king. You are still my friend and I would greatly appreciate you still referring to me as Dante. By the way what was with the sudden change?" Virgil smiled but still gave a small bow, causing Dante to sigh and roll his head a bit from annoyance. Then his grimace too became a small but reluctant smile.

Virgil stood, "I suspect when you obtained that." Virgil said as he pointed toward the crown that adorned Dante's head. The one he had taken from the Crimson King. "That caused some protocols normally reserved for the guides of those of "royal blood" to become active." Virgil said, raising his hands to put royal blood in quotes with his fingers.

His smile returned after a second.

"I do like your crown by the way. I like this one as well." Virgil said as he once more touched the small circlet upon his own head. Then his expression became more serious, "Now Dante. Please explain to me how you came across that... these items." Virgil paused for a moment as he finally noticed all the other things that now adorned Dante's form.

Dante recounted his tale for several minutes even going so far as to show Virgil the cantrip, Dancing lights, and the items he had taken from the room. It was during this time that he was informed by the crown that the carpet he had stolen had been placed within its inventory.

-------------------------------------------------

When Dante was finished with his story Virgil's face was one of shock and amazement. "Dante you would have been made aware of this later on in the zones, however it seems you need to be made aware of such things now. That room you were in was a construct made to symbolize one of your Roads."

A faint recollection came to the forefront of Dante's mind. "You mentioned something before about walking on roads without points, right?" Dante questioned as he looked at a dozen notices relating to Roads alone.

"Last night many individuals were connected to entities of great power that best suited them. What you have described can only be one of three things. One possibility is that the king you bested was the person who was supposed to give you power." Virgil paused for a moment, "If that is the case or not i'm impressed you managed to survive his ire." Virgil said with a genuine expression of approval, before continuing.

"Another is that you unlocked a Road that lead you to him. Thus leads back to the Road construct I mentioned earlier. Which is the main method by which people bypass the RP normally required to complete Roads. The third being a combination of the previous two. However, I would say it is most likely the first." Dante took in Virgil's word's for a moment weighing them.

"Yeah? Well, fuck that guy! Why was I even connected to that guy? He was an asshole!" Dante yelled before realizing that he needed to keep his voice down.

Virgil sat upon the bed next to him. "A fourth possibility is that what occurred was a test of some sort from the system."

"A test? A test for...what..."Dante asked, remembering to keep his voice down.

"A test to see what you would do. Would you kneel and accept the power he would have offered, becoming a thrall to his will, or stand against him, and earn his ire... or respect." Virgil said tacking on that last little bit to the end as he thought.

"He fucking took a swing at me. I heard the beating of Death's wings as he was swinging! I definitely earned his ire, he wanted to turn my head to mist." Dante said his voice lowering towards the end.

"Worry not had his strike connected you would have simply awoken with a serious headache and no lasting damage."

'That's good to know.' Dante thought before another question popped into his mind on the things that had been said earlier.

"Earlier you said I might have unlocked a road that led to him. Does that mean I could become connected to other entities like that again if I unlocked the right roads?" Dante asked concerned as to his own well being should he come upon another similar encounter.

"Yes, that certainly is a possibility." Virgil said with a mildly concerned voice.

His expression quickly changed however as he attempted to comfort Dante.

"This is not always a bad thing. Surely many Roads shall lead to many things! Some may be bad but some must be good as well." Virgil said, his tone growing more hopeful.

Dante sighed and then spoke, "Yeah, your right Virgil. Let's sort through all these notices now."

Virgil simply smiled and nodded as Dante took a deep breath and reviewed his notifications.

You have been called to the throne room of the Crimson King!...

You are Frightened! You have acquired the skill, Fear resistance (C) Lvl. 1...

The Road of Fear is now open to you...

His fear resistance got to level 5 before something new popped up.

You have resisted Fear! You have acquired the skill, Courage (C) Lvl. 1...

The Road of Courage is now open to you.

Skill synergy detected...

The skill's, Fear resistance, and Courage, begin to fuse...

Congratulations! Your skills have successfully fused into the Rare, passive, skill, Burning Heart Lvl. 1...

Dante decided to check his skills, and oh boy.

Skills

Summon Virgil

(Rank 3)

Mana Sense (Unc) Lvl. 10

Farming © Lvl. 12

Observation Analysis © Lvl. 1

Mana Manipulation © Lvl. 3

Time sense ® Lvl. 1

Horticulture © Lvl. 5

Cartography (Unc) Lvl. 12

Burning Heart ® Lvl. 1 Blood Absorption ® Lvl. 1 Resistance to Mundane Exhaustion (Unc) Lvl. 1 Mundane Damage Resistance (Unc) Lvl. 1 Possession Resistance (Unc) Lvl. 1 Mental Attack Resistance (Unc) Lvl. 1

Upon viewing his skills it gave Dante a bit of joy. He hadn't had to buy Observation Analysis. Though it also led to several questions which he was certain would become clear as he continued through the notices. 'Mental Attack Resistance? Blood Absorption? At least I can kind of understand the resistances. I just need more information.' Dante thought.

It was at this point that the crown actually chimed in, "Mental attack resistance would be my fault...Dante?" the crown spoke hesitantly in Dante's mind.

"Was it when you yelled in my head? Also you can call me Dante, that is fine." A sense of relief washed down upon Dante originating from the crown.

"I believe that is the reason you obtained the skill, yes." Dante simply nodded his head and accepted the answer.

This unfortunately brought something else to the forefront of Dante's mind, "Can you read my thoughts crown?" Dante asked whilst looking towards Virgil, who was still awaiting Dante to request something. He quickly dumped 50 mana into the summoning skill, to ensure Virgil stuck around for a while.

"I am able to hear, see, and understand your surface level thoughts. You are correct." Dante was not exactly happy to hear that but there was not much he could do about it at the moment.

As for Blood Absorption, he would have to continue reviewing the notices to find its source. Dante wanted to open and review his status but he felt that he needed to get through more of these notices before he did that. It would save him some mental strain from confusion. Also quite possible to save him from screaming in surprise and making a lot of people angry by waking them up.

Courage is not the absense of fear. It is the strength to take action despite fear...

To take action out of fear is cowardice. You are no coward...

You tread forth despite the shaking of your body, which you feel down to your bones...

You stand where many have fallen before you, and it gives you the strength to fight on...

You have tread so far in such a short time, your life has been filled with adversity and yet you persevere still ever onward...

Congratulations! You have completed the road of courage I...

Road bonuses listed below...

+250 Health, +10 Health regen, +150 Stamina, +7.5 Stamina regen, +5 Strength, +6 Con, +5 End, +10 Will, +10 Spirit...

Dante looked at the reward for his accomplishment, and he was impressed. Dante realized with amazement that his health should have gotten close to doubling. He saw more notices relating to roads, so he held back from opening his status page just yet until he better understood what to expect. "It's almost time to inspect my loot!" Dante exclaimed with a smile, before covering his mouth realizing he needed to keep it down.

Your Health has surpassed 500! You have earned the Uncommon passive skill, Mundane Damage Resistance Lvl. 1...

Mundane Damage Resistance Lvl. 1- Your physicality is such that mundane damage is now less effective against you. Reduced damage from non magical sources, such as piercing/slashing/bludgeoning damage, per level of the skill. +20 Health per level of the skill...

Your Stamina has surpassed 500! You have earned the skill, Tireless (C) Lvl. 1...

Tireless- Your body has become more capable when it comes to the expanding of stamina. Slight increase to tolerance of stamina exhaustion per level of the skill.

Congratulations! For getting both your Health and Stamina totals to above 500 your skill, Tireless, has become, Resistance to Mundane Exhaustion (Unc) Lvl. 1...

Resistance to Mundane Exhaustion - Your body has become more capable when it comes to the expenditure of your health and stamina. Slight increase to tolerance of health and stamina exhaustion per level of the skill. +10 Stamina per level of the skill...

"Virgil can you please give me more context to this skill, Resistance to Mundane Exhaustion?" Dante asked Virgil who was now sitting cross legged at the end of his bed looking at him with a small smile.

"Certainly. You have already experienced mana exhaustion at least once. Your health and stamina work similarly. This skill pushes back the point at which you begin to experience health and stamina exhaustion. The higher the level of the skill, the more it's pushed back. So in the case of a warrior, instead of experiencing stamina exhaustion after emptying his stamina once, he could do it several times. It would be a similar case with health." Dante had a sparkle in his eyes as he looked upon the skill in a new and even more favorable light.

A new question popped up in Dante's mind, "Virgil. How much health do I need to get magical damage resistance?"

Virgil smiled and stated, "It would require at least 5000 health for a human such as yourself to gain that skill." Dante nodded and made a mental note that he had a new long term goal.

Another question surfaced, "Crown, how much health did the Crimson King have?"

The crown was silent for a moment, "He possessed over 500,000 health and regenerated a significant sum of it every minute to the least of my knowledge. Had he not used that skill, it would have been nearly impossible for you to have slain him." Dante weighed those words, they did not comfort him. He continued examining the notices.

You have been possessed by the Crimson King!...

Crimson King has failed to possess your body, you have resisted...

You have acquired the skill, Possession Resistance (Unc) Lvl. 1

Mana corruption has begun...

Due to mana corruption, you have unlocked the affinity: Blood...

The Road of Blood opens to you...

You have obtained the Rare skill, "Blood absorption" Lvl. 1...

Blood absorption- You take the blood of the fallen and living alike that you may continue. Restores health with blood absorbed. Absorption of blood from creatures of greater physical capabilities leads to permanent physical stat improvements. Improvements depend upon differences in physical stats and level of skill. Absorbable amounts of blood increase with skill level.

You have taken psychic damage!

You have obtained the skill, Mental Attack Resistance, Lvl. 1...

You have obtained a key for the throne room of the Crimson King...

You are no longer possessed by the Crimson King...

Mana corruption has been greatly reduced, however residue remains...

You retain your affinity for blood however it is greatly lessened...

Skill, Blood Absorption, is retained but weakened due to decrease in related affinity...

Skill, Mana Manipulation, has leveled up! Lvl. 2...

Skill, Mana Manipulation, has leveled up! Lvl. 3...

You have remade the spell Dancing lights! +50 exp...

Skill, Student of Magic, has leveled up! Lvl. 2...

It was now that Dante finally began to realize why he had been unable to backtrack as he had entered the throne room of the Crimson King. He had been walking on a Road, and the way roads worked in the system was one step forward and no steps back. He must have gotten off the path somewhere around when he uppercut the Crimson King. That was why he could move normally again. Speaking of the Crimson King. "What was that ability he used when his body turned to dust?" Dante asked the crown.

"It was a body stealing skill. It was certainly powerful, but EXTREMELY dangerous to the user and with a non zero chance of failure or only partial success. As in many cases and the case of the Crimson King, it sacrifices the user's body to enact the skill." It replied in his mind.

Dante was happy that he hadn't lost the moment the king used that skill but it raised the question, "Why did he fail to possess me?"

The crown's response was immediate. "His normally substantially higher stats had been greatly depreciated due to being trapped by the system for quite some time. Also the skill he used was only level 1. Thus you had the greatest chances of winning against that skill. He had never used it before due to the severe drawbacks from doing so. In other words he was inexperienced in the skill. Its level was only 1, and you had many advantages helping you to resist him and even so you were only partially successful. Circumstances were truly stacked in your favor, and even then the odds of your success were less than 2%. If you had gone on much longer without me he surely would have won." The crown stated in Dante's mind with a mixture of pride and something else he couldn't quite place.

Stolen novel; please report.

Rereading the last few notices before he moved onto his loot he noticed a line he had initially somehow missed.

You have obtained a key for the throne room of the Crimson King...

Dante threw open his inventory certain he had no such key, and just as he thought there in his inventory lay only the orb that contained what remained of the Crimson King's being. Dante then remembered he had another inventory now. He smiled as he asked the crown, "Do you have a key in that inventory of yours?" He was very happy when an ornate obsidian key dropped into his lap, and in his hands he could feel it was clearly magical. So magical in fact, that he gained another three levels in Mana sense from touching it.

"Well I'll be a son of a..." Dante could not even finish his sentence due to being unable to believe what he saw there. "Even if I hadn't stolen the rug when I did I could have gone back later for it. I'll be damned!" Dante spoke in a low voice unable to believe it. Dante promptly returned the key to his crown's inventory and before closing his own inventory, turned to Virgil. "What do you think of the Crimson King? What's left of him is right here in my inventory." Virgil's smile wavered for a moment then dropped as he seemed to realize something. Dante immediately took the hint and closed his inventory. A blue box emerged from Virgil's hand and he handed it over to Dante. One of the blue boxes hovering around him blinked out.

Quest: Deliver the Imprisoned Crimson King to the nearest church for Destruction!

Through some miracle you have managed to capture the Crimson King. Deliver him to the nearest church that they may end his terror forever.

Completion reward: EXP, Significantly decreased relationship with followers of the Crimson King. You will be hunted by the followers of the Crimson King.

Signifigantly increased relationship with system affiliated entities that know of this deed.

Special opportunities and rewards granted by the system.

Consequences of Failure: Near certain death, you will be hunted by the followers of the Crimson King, and possibly by the Crimson King himself.

Do you accept Y/N?

Dante looked at the box, his eye began to twitch, but before he could ask any questions another was handed to him by Virgil. Another one of the blue boxes hovering around his head blinked out.

As you have played a large role in the imprisonment of the Crimson King, his follower's have been notified as to your actions. They have been granted quests to hunt you down and retrieve their dark master. However, it is not all bad news. Many said individuals are unable to reach you due to the level limit imposed by the Normal, tutorial zone.

Dante broke out in cold sweat. "I'm going to need everything I can get. There's a Fucking! Price! On my head. Shit! Silver linings I guess that most of them can't reach me here." Dante said in a low voice trying his best not to wake people up and make more enemies than he already seemed to have.

He then facepalmed and accepted the quest to deliver the Crimson King to the nearest church. As he continued to read and reread the notices he keyed in on something mentioned in the text, "Level limit imposed by zone? Virgil can you please explain that?"

Virgil's once happy expression was now dead serious. "A level limit is imposed upon each zone to prevent over-leveled individuals from...steam rolling? I think the term is...any way, to keep people whose levels are too high from coming in and killing everything in the zone."

Dante was thrown, "I thought you couldn't return to tutorial zones once you left?"

Virgil continued to explain the details to him, "That is incorrect. Even after one has completed one of the zones they may return after a set amount of time has elapsed if they are within the level allowed within the zone. The time for each zone is 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year. The level limits are 80, 120, 160, 200, 250 and there is no level limit for the hardest zone. People may return there no matter their level, once the countdown expires." Virgil finished his explanation of the zones and some of the mechanics by which they functioned.

Dante could not even imagine what kind of hell that the hardest zone would look like if he went there. He dared not to even imagine. He realized that at that moment he needed to get as strong as possible, as fast as possible. "If I go to the next zone, there might be a gang of level 119 or level 120 people there. Waiting to gank me." It was not a pleasant thought. Virgil's expression was dark as he too felt the weight of what was surely to come.

"However..." Virgil said, drawing back Dante's attention. "...If one should die while within a normal tutorial zone one of several things could occur. One being they will be respawned in the place they left Earth, unharmed."

"Wait a minute...WHAT the fuck! There's respawning?" Dante asked in shock and awe, forgetting the troubling information he had learned a few minutes prior.

"Yes, however, respawning is limited in several ways. Only in normal tutorial zones is a free respawn given to any person who dies. If such were to occur, you would either respawn back on earth with all of your equipment, or if you had garnered sufficient favor with a Church within the zone you may be allowed to respawn there. Though even that is limited to a number of times per week based upon several factors we won't go into at the moment." Virgil said whilst waving his hand as if to brush off that last little bit of information.

"If one dies in the zones after this you will truly die unless you have someone to respawn you. As is the same for the outside world. All that aside If you die and respawn outside the zone you won't be able to reenter the zone for an amount of accelerated time based upon the zone's difficulty. For normal zones it's 7 days of accelerated time or about 10 minutes back on Earth. After that it's a month, then 3 months, then 6, then a year. As for the final zone there is none but it's a special circumstance."

"Alright...that's all good to know..." Dante said slowly as he was processing the fact that, if only limitedly, he could respawn after he died.

"I would suggest you consider respawns as a limited resource of last resort, as you do have to DIE for it to occur. I am very doubtful you would appreciate the pain that is almost certainly to come with such things." Virgil spoke, giving his words of warning to Dante, trying to cut off foolish notions before they could take root.

"Alright I understand Virgil. But on another subject, how old is the Crimson King?" He asked curiously how long the guy had been trapped in that room. 'He looked ancient but the room didn't have a speck of dust in it...' He mused before Virgil spoke.

"The Crimson King is roughly 50,000 years old. Most of that time, about 45,000 years of it, he has spent trapped in his prison by the system, until now that is." Virgil said his smile was gone and replaced by a frown.

"What did he do?" Dante asked the obvious.

"He slaughtered trillions of players across more than a dozen solar systems. Several of which no longer exist due to him artificially causing their suns to go supernova. Any who wouldn't bend the knee and show him fealty was killed, by the blade, by the spell, or by his...bloody skills." Virgil said, pausing for a moment clearly not enjoying the information he was speaking, but he pushed through.

"He is a ruthless monster who was banned from the player system and placed into the monster system as an example to others who would try to emulate him, or to simply try and continue his bloody work. While he was still free he spilled oceans of blood and declared himself a king. He ruled an empire several dozen light years across for almost 500 years before the system finally managed to get him. But he couldn't so easily be slain. It was decided that for his crimes, he would be locked away for the rest of time." Virgil finished speaking for the moment as he laid down upon the bed and rubbed his face, seemingly trying to process all the information he was learning.

Dante on the other hand felt as the crown upon his head seemed to grow ever more heavy. 'Nope! We're not going to think about that right now." Dante thought before he decided to check his Roads as a distraction.

Road of Blood

0/25

Road of Dust

0/20

Road of the Burning Heart

0/25

Road of Family

0/100

Road of the Unyielding Will

0/50

Road to Everlasting Life

0/1,000

Road of the Downtrodden

0/10

Road of New Beginnings

0/20

Road of Leadership I

0/10

Road of Courage II

0/50

Road of Fear I

0/10

Road of the Wizard II

0/20

Dante looked at all of the paths he had unlocked since going to bed; it was nearly too much for him to take. Dante rubbed his face trying to calm himself but only succeeded in irritating his face. What caught his eye was his 1000 Rp road.

Unyielding will was interesting but he supposed it went well with courage. The Road of Everlasting Life on the other hand really interested him. "How the fuck did I get the Road of Everlasting life?" Dante questioned.

To his surprise the crown answered, "The robe." Dante's expression was of shock, he then used his new Observation Analysis skill to inspect the robe he was wearing at this very moment.

Robe of Everlasting Life

A beautiful hand crafted robe. It was crafted by masters in their fields and imbued with secret magics. (Previously belonged to the Crimson King.)

The attuned creature has their Health and stamina regenerations doubled. Slightly increases the user's tolerance for Health and Stamina exhaustion for every level in ERROR!

The attuned creature is made immune to natural aging past their physical prime. The attuned creature has resistance to effects that would magically age them.

Through the scanning of a very rare item, Observation Analysis has jumped to level 10!...

Dante already knew what the thing in his inventory was, but using his new skill upon it would be beneficial so he did so anyway. Dante opened his inventory for a moment and used his skill on the small orb that was rolling itself around in there.

Skill has been resisted!...

Observation Analysis has become level 11!...

Dante debated trying to scan it again but after a moment decided against it. "I definitely need to get this asshole out of this gem and...I'm not certain I even want that piece back. I doubt I even would be able to get it back, they'll probably break it." Dante stated as he once more closed his inventory.

He brought out the rug and scanned it for shits and giggles.

Crimson carpet

A beautiful but non magical, and slightly dirty, large crimson entry carpet. Plucked from the throne room of a long dead, then undead?... king.

Dante laughed a little bit and looking at Virgil's serious expression he handed him the blue box before he moved onto the next items. He would save the crown for last. The best for last as they say. Dante moved onto the rings he wore.

Ring of the King

Ring of Climate control

Ring of Truesight

Gold Wedding ring

Silver Promissory ring

A large silver signet ring with the symbol of a hand engraved into the metal. This ring is only possessed by beings of royalty. If you possess this ring you must qualify to be a king.

Grants the attuned creature +100 Charisma.

Requires attunement

Level requirement 100.

A large gold ring wherein is set a large diamond sided by a fingernail sized garnet to one side and an equally sized sapphire to the other side.

Creates a small area around the user where the user is protected from both high and low temperature caused by the surrounding environment.

Does grant resistance against actual fire or cold damage.

Requires attunement

Level requirement 50

A large ring shaped like the head of a dragon, with a large pearl kept tightly in its jaws.

Grants the attuned creature the ability to use truesight. Attuned creatures can see in both normal and magical darkness out to 30 feet. You can see invisible creatures and objects and automatically see through visual illusions, including revealing the original form of a creature or shapeshifter.

Requires attunement

A plain gold wedding ring that previously belonged to the Crimson King. His wife commited suicide as she could find no other escape from her mentally unraveling husband. He kept this item with him through his many and long years. He was unwilling to part with this ring.

A plain silver promissory ring that used to belong to the Crimson King. A token the king once gave to his children. When they died he took it back. The children of the Crimson King died long ago, and his heart ceased to beat nearly as long ago. Yet still he could not bring himself to be rid of it.

Through the scanning of multiple magical items of varying rarities, Observation Analysis has jumped to level 20...

"I suppose even this monster was but a man once..." Dante thought as he saw the two non magical rings.

Dante was happy that he had these items. He just would have been happier not knowing the details of the king's history.

Now it was time to move onto the most important item he possessed, the crown that weighed heavy upon his head. The moment he had been waiting for almost as much as opening his status. Dante scanned the crown.

Crown of Leadership

A crown previously worn by the infamous Crimson King. Due to being underleveled Stat bonuses are reduced to 10% of their original value.

The crown can absorb magical items within certain limits. A gold necklace with a large gem. A magic hat but not a mundane one.

A once "Normal" magical crown granted sentience by the Crimson King through secret magics. Through those same magics he granted the item the ability to consume similar magical items.

Minimum level for depreciated stat gain: Lvl. 100

Normal level required for full access: Lvl. 200

Emerald

Sapphire

Amethyst

Diamond

Topaz

Citrine

Unavailable

Originally this gem served as a token of wisdom before being integrated into this crown.

+1000 wisdom.

Unavailable

Originally this gem served as a token of intellect before being integrated into this crown.

+1000 intellect.

Unavailable

Grants the user resistance to Mana corruption.

+100,000 to max mana.

This diamond acts as an additional inventory accessible only to the attuned creature.

Unavailable

Originally this gem served as a token of awareness before being integrated into this crown.

+1000 perception

Grants the user the ability to change the form of the crown at will.

Observation Analysis has jumped to level 27!...

Dante was ecstatic but couldn't help from saying, "I have to wait till level 100 to get stats from this? What a minute..." Dante said as he took notice that several of the items didn't have level requirements, or for the Ring of climate control, only had a requirement of 50.

"Crown?" He asked the air experimentally.

'Yes Dante?' The crown spoke in his mind.

"I can't get the stat gains from you till I'm level 100 right? Also what level was the Crimson King?"

"That's correct, and his level is, last I saw, 356."

'Shit...So no getting these things' stat gains while I'm still in the normal tutorial zone.' He mused before asking another question.

"There are things that don't have level requirements. Can I use those?" Dante asked the crown.

"Yes you can. However, I must clarify some things. You can still access my inventory, I can still shape change as you desire, within reason, and I can still consume lesser items. Should said items be within your power to wield, then their abilities and bonuses will still be available to you." The crown replied in his mind with a measure of pride.

"Good to know. How many items did the king have you absorb while you were with him?" Dante asked though he was certain he would regret it.

"Several items of great power. As you have seen them. The gems. He never used me to consume lesser items unless they were of great interest to him. He found such a collection of power beneath him. I only absorbed about a dozen items in all the time I was his." Said the crown in his mind.

"Also good to know. Status." Dante spoke.

Dante A. Stone

Race: Human

Class: N/A

LVl. 23

EXP: 2,167/4,700

Gold: 65

Stats

Resources

Total

Regen.

Strength 24

Health

908

(34.5x2=69/min)

Constitution/Vitality 35

Mana

757

(14.8/min)

Endurance 27

Stamina

797

(30.4x2=60.8/min)

Dexterity 20

Road Points

90

Willpower 26

Stat Points

20

Intellect 28 Luck 18 Wisdom 23 Perception 17 Charisma 17 Spirit 29

(A/N: So you're all aware his resources may appear a bit higher than they should be. I made a small correction because I forgot several skills give small amounts of resources per level. How do you like the new status layout?)

Dante's eyes immediately bulged as he examined his status. Dante was elated and so he laughed for a few seconds and then spoke, "What do you think Virgil?" Dante asked as he handed Virgil the blue boxes displaying his status. Virgil was silent with the sides of his mouth curved up into a grin looking how excited Dante was.

"So Virgil, how do these skills and subskills you mentioned earlier work as a part of the system as a whole anyway?" Dante asked to change the subject.

Virgil smiled at the change and began to explain, "Gaining skills and leveling them grants experience toward your level in addition to Rp. When sub skills level the skills they derive from gain experience. The higher the level the skill gets, the higher its rarity when it is obtained and what level it's becoming, grants differing amounts of experience. An example being the common farming skill leveling to 20 will yield less than half the exp than say, Burning heart leveling to 2. This is due to the difference in their rarities. Additionally you may have noticed that several of your skills give you a small bonus to your resources for each of their levels." Virgil said.

Dante smiled as he picked up and put on his blue jeans and then his rainbow striped socks. He put on his boots and then turned to Virgil who was sitting cross legged on the bed. His face was one of pouting as he crossed his arms, "Virgil can you please tell me the time?" Dante asked in a calm tone of curiosity while standing by the door.

Virgil simply sighed before uncrossing his arms and responding, "It is 5:15 A.M. local time." Dante was ever grateful for everything that Virgil had helped him with during his time here.

"Virgil, I'm going to go get some breakfast. But first..." Dante pulled the plain gold and silver rings from his fingers. "Virgil, how much will the system buy these very old rings of historical value for?" Virgil smiled even as he rubbed his temples, even though it didn't serve a real purpose it helped him to comfort himself. Virgil sighed once more, his eyes flashed gold and then he said, "10,000 small gold for both of them." Dante didn't care if he was getting ripped off or not, he didn't want those rings. "Deal." The two rings held between Dante's fingers were gone in a flash of golden light. In their place was left a notice.

10,000 small gold has been deposited to your system wallet.

Dante smiled and even Virgil managed a small smile as he shook his head. "I'm going to dismiss you now. I will resummon you in a few hours." Virgil nodded in acknowledgement. Dante would distribute the Rp and then stat points after breakfast and then maybe go back to bed for a few more hours.

When he thought about it for a moment, the Crimson King would probably be pretty pissed off if he knew that he had just sold those two rings. That made him smile just a bit.

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Unbeknown to Dante the King raged against his prison.

"YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS INDIGNITY YOU LITTLE SHIT!"