After an uncountable passage of time, Dante finally awakens from his meditation. Initially, he thought it wouldn't necessarily be intense, but rather something he would have to put in a lot of effort to achieve.

Especially when he considered the various chapters of the book on this topic that seemed to serve only to motivate its readers unnecessarily. For Dante, the ability to perform magic should already be motivation enough, and it simply seemed like the author was just dragging things out across those numerous pages.

Everything seemed too easy. Meditation was strange at first, but the freedom it brought to the mind made Dante view it as some kind of extremely heavy drug. This sensation was something he had never experienced before, and it felt like his consciousness was simply disconnecting from his body. And that, to Dante, was fantastic.

Unfortunately, this sensation, from what he had read, like any good drug, would wear off until his mind finally got used to these sensations he had never experienced, and it would probably stop having much effect, maybe even none at all.

Even though he loved this sensation, Dante also saw that this natural defense that was forming was nothing more than a clear sign of a mage's evolution, so he didn't really care about it.

After stretching strongly, as he must have stayed in the exact same position for several hours, he realized, to his delight, that Amelia had left a large bottle of coffee for him to drink. He thought that she must have quickly left the room to give him privacy since she saw him meditating.

After serving himself some coffee and finally drinking it, it seemed like it had just been made. It was still extremely hot, which was no problem for him, but it brought a certain comfort because, even as a zombie, coffee was the only thing that still accompanied him from his life as a human, and it still served him well in this new world.

Dante wouldn't say it was the best coffee he had ever had in his life, especially when he could make great coffee himself with the right beans, but this world probably didn't have complex logistics and infrastructure systems, and even with magic, high-quality beans must exist only in very specific locations that have been cultivating these plants for generations.

Finally, after quickly drinking that cup, he felt his whole body energizing again, and he was finally ready to start this new day.

Not necessarily, because he had already done many things in what could be defined as the same day, such as not only learning magic but also starting to meditate.

Dante didn't know if he had been good or bad during meditation, but he knew he had at least made some progress, and with that, he knew that if he maintained a consistent meditation-based routine, as he intended to from this day on, he could easily start casting his first spells in a few days.

After finally leaving the room, Dante strangely found himself face to face with Amelia, who seemed to be reading a small book while waiting for Dante to wake up.

Upon realizing his arrival, she respectfully bowed to Dante and quickly began to talk about some more important matters at the moment.

But Dante was just wondering why she was now so naturally respectful to him because before, it all seemed like some forced act, but now everything was developing with a strange and courteous fluidity.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Do you happen to be showing any signs of hunger in any way? Or how long until that might happen?"

"To be honest, I really don't know. Fortunately, I could almost always buy brains from one or two funeral homes. You don't know how easy it is to do some really morbid things when you have money."

"But most likely, the last piece I ate won't last long, so I don't think we can stay here much longer."

"Is it possible to return to this place after we leave? Maybe as a base while we try to build something outside next month."

Without even thinking, she quickly responded, "Unfortunately, that's not possible. Unfortunately, I have always been just a simple maid in this place, and while I know how to exit these facilities, I don't have the reverse knowledge to enter."

Dante looked down a bit because this was really problematic.

"That's a shame, but then we don't have much to do other than plan as best we can to try to have as few problems as possible in the future."

Dante really liked the comfort that the place provided him, especially because it allowed him to wear clothes similar to what he liked to wear, and also because he could have a space almost identical to his old apartment. But he didn't want to tell Amelia, but internally, he wanted to hasten his departure from that place. He wanted to see the forest that surrounded him and, most importantly, he would very much like to start his life again as soon as possible, living maybe as an adventurer or whatever else might come his way in this early stage.

Everything he looked at, even magical things, only gave him a simple feeling of artificiality, a feeling that even the tallest buildings and most populous neighborhoods of his city did not create in him. Everything seemed too easy, or like an endless dream. And that only made him want to leave even more.

"Maybe in the old office of your master, we could find some items we could take from here, perhaps maps, but preferably equipment and clothing suitable for our next journey. I don't think these jeans would hold up for several kilometers in the wilderness. Heaven... I never thought being dead could actually be useful."

Sure, he couldn't eat the foods he once loved or engage in... certain activities. At least, he thought he couldn't engage in them without turning his partner into an irrational zombie. But as a zombie, he didn't have to worry about hurting his feet on long walks or any other discomforts that extended physical exertion might cause in a normal human.

Also, he saw that Amelia probably wouldn't have to worry about trivial things like a blister on her foot or chafed legs from walking; to him, she was probably just intimidating. She was much shorter compared to him, and yet she could easily cut him in half with minimal effort.

After hearing about whether they could find some equipment or tools, Amelia said to Dante as she got up from the chair she had been sitting in for the past hour and slowly stretched while looking at the strong embers in front of both of them.

"I don't know. It seems that Zargorios had everything planned before he left, but I don't see why he would have thought of something as simple as clothing for adventurers."

"However, it doesn't hurt to try."

After that, she starts searching in her own clothes, in the various pockets it has, and after several minutes, she finally finds what appears to be an old and sturdy key made of steel.

"Okay, we can then check if he left something for you."

After that, and after they had already agreed on the best way to reach the nearest city, passing through the largest villages along the way, and maybe even enrolling in the adventurers' guild and starting to take on some jobs, they finally begin to walk towards Amelia's old master's office, workshop, or even temple.

Dante didn't know what to expect, but thinking that this place wasn't his usual workplace because it wasn't one of the important centers of the old academy, he didn't expect to find anything grandiose, like enormous dragons similar to the librarian himself imprisoned in powerful and esoteric cages, or powerful and cold golems formed from the mightiest of rocks living to defend that place from potential intruders.

As he walked, Dante also wondered what treasures he might hide. Wouldn't it be the best of worlds if he actually found a divine armor for Amelia and a powerful staff that would make him extremely strong right now?

Of course, this would be the best of worlds, and while he couldn't see any reason why Zargorios wouldn't do it, as he was definitely one of the last beings who still wanted to keep the knowledge of his presence in this world, he also didn't see it happening; it was simply too perfect.

Starting a new life was very uncomfortable, especially when a person had no material possessions to facilitate this beginning, so thoughts like these were natural, even though they were completely absurd.

Finally, they found themselves at the grand door that, as Amelia had said, led to Zargorios's own office, and when they finally opened it, they noticed that like other spaces uniquely belonging to this man, it was a very humble place, at least in size, as it could easily be compared to any office that someone had made in their own home.