Dante’s Immortality - Chapter 24

The pain was the first thing he felt upon coming back into consciousness. Thankfully, it was receding.

Opening his eyes, he saw a tired healer hunched over his body. Beads of sweat were rolling off of the man’s pale forehead as he did his work.

At least I'm not the only one who has to suffer.

For some reason, knowing that he wasn’t the only casualty of Archie’s sadistic attitude made him feel slightly better. He closed his eyes and waited for the healer to finish.

It was several minutes later before the panting healer spoke up. “Alright. All done, milord.”

Dante released a sigh. “Thank you.”

Sitting up and shaking off the exhaustion from the healing, Dante stood and walked to his meeting point with Mia. He had already made reservations for the combat simulation enchantment room, and even Archie couldn’t kill his excitement.

“Dante!” Hearing his name being shouted out at the side of the yard, he turned and tried to identify the source of the noise.

Will?

From where the source of the noise was coming from he saw Will running across the yard toward him. Seeing him was slightly surprising, Will should have left over an hour ago.

“Wait up.” Will caught up with him and began to walk by his side. After sprinting through the yard, his breathing was completely normal and he wasn’t tired at all, which was a testament to Archie’s endurance training.

He was caught off-guard by Will’s sudden appearance, they had never said a word to each other outside of their training class, so he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to react. “Hey Will, what’s up?”

Will’s expression dulled. “Uh… I was just wondering how your training went?”

Dante blinked in surprise. If Will had really waited for him, he should have seen him almost kill himself. And if he did, what kind of question was that? “It went well, until the sword exploded and I fainted from the pain and blood loss.”

“Oh right, sorry…” Will scratched his head, then cleared his throat. “So, um. I was wondering… if you could possibly, uh, help me out with my manipulation orb training?”

How could a noble possibly need my help?

Dante’s head tilted slightly in confusion as he looked at Will. “Don’t you have anyone else to teach you?”

The discomfort on Will’s face was almost tangible. “Not only have I been training almost nonstop, but I’ve also hired the best tutors at the academy. But it doesn’t matter what I do, the gap between our control just keeps increasing.” Will cleared his throat. “If you were to help me, I would be willing to pay you the same rate as I pay the other tutors.”

That gave him pause. Mia’s teachings were far better than he thought if Will had been using the best tutors at the academy, the gap between them had been growing every day. Not only that, but Will was willing to pay to teach him… but there was still something he needed more than money.

He gave Will his friendliest smile. “There's no need to pay me, I’ll do it for free.”

Will had a look of disbelief on his face. “You would do it for free?” He broke out into a broad grin. “You’re the best!”

“I would start today, but I have a simulation room reserved for training… How about tomorrow after our Swordsmanship class?”

Will hurriedly nodded. “That sounds perfect, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Without another word, Will turned and ran off.

He was quite pleased with the new arrangement. Teaching Will some of the tricks that Mia had been giving to him wouldn’t be challenging in the slightest. He was a bit disappointed about the missed opportunity to be paid for it though, but for the moment he needed something more than money; allies.

So far it seemed that everyone he had met in the academy was against him in some way. Even Mia, who he was the closest to, was definitely keeping an eye on him for someone else.

Even if he didn’t get any money from teaching Will, at the very least Will would feel somewhat indebted to him. And even if he didn’t, it would still give the two of them more time together to solidify their loose relationship.

Although he didn’t know Will that well, for a noble he seemed somewhat reliable and honest. His attitude seemed to be in stark contrast to the others from Housing District 1 that he had met thus far.

“What was that about?” Mia had seen the entire encounter with Will and seemed to be curious regarding what they had been talking about.

“Will is struggling with his manipulation orb training, so he was asking me for extra help.”

A strange expression crossed Mia’s face. “Did you agree to help him?”

Dante nodded. “We are going to start tomorrow, I thought it would be a good way to build some kind of a friendship. Besides, teaching him shouldn’t be too hard.”

Mia’s forehead creased as she heard his word’s. “Would it be possible for you to not teach him how to spread his awareness with Mana?”

He looked at her curiously, thinking over the implications of her words. “Is the technique one of House Calmans secrets?”

Her gaze drifted slightly to the side. “Something like that.”

Seeing how serious she was, he nodded. “Of course, I wouldn’t teach him anything that you don’t want me to.”

A smile lit up her face. “Thank you!” As if just remembering something, Mia quickly looked up toward the sun with a worried face, checking the time. “Your Swordsmanship training took longer than we thought. There are only around thirty minutes until your session starts, we should hurry.”

Dante cursed internally. Blowing himself up had taken up more time than he had thought. He had to pay for the room in advance so any of the time that he missed would be gone… and it was expensive.

Without a second thought, Dante grabbed Mia’s arm and began to plow through the crowd. Thankfully, she didn’t seem to object. The simulation enchantments were on the outskirts of the academy, and therefore about an hours’ walk with light traffic. Now, when the foot traffic was at its densest, it would take even longer.

Pushing through the crowd actually went far better than he thought it. Only occasionally would someone be upset enough to stop and try to confront him. After they saw him, and his Housing District 1 uniform, they quickly shut their mouths and went about their business. Occasionally he seemed to be recognized from his fight at the arena. Those people stuck out because would turn around to curse him, see who he was, then immediately utter apologies with a pale face.

This new fear that he was eliciting from others was far more useful than he had thought. The way they were treating him, by apologizing and running away, was definitely preferable to being cursed and chased away himself.

When they finally made it to the leisure district, Dante heaved a sigh of relief. They made it in what he guessed to be forty minutes, only slowing down to a walk when Mia was too tired to keep up.

He was still late, and had lost some of the money he had spent. But given the circumstances, he couldn't help but be satisfied.

The leisure district itself was exactly what it sounded like. Almost exclusively visited by nobles, it was where wealthy academy students would go to spend their free time. There were several inns, clubs, enchantment facilities, shops, and even brothels. He took it all in, it was the first time he had seen the district, and he couldn’t help but be amazed at how lively it was. It seemed like everywhere he looked people were laughing or socializing with each other.

There were similar districts located all over the academy that served the same purpose, but those were geared towards commoners or nobles with less overall wealth. Generally, he couldn’t even afford those.

He turned to Mia, who reserved the enchantment room, for directions.

Without wasting any more of their precious time, Mia grabbed his hand and then began to drag him through the streets until they came upon a massive stone building.

Dante stared at it in incredulity. It stood out like a fortress when compared to the other surrounding shops and inns. Guards were everywhere; by the gates, the entrances, armed with bows on the roof, and even patrolling the nearby roads. For a moment he thought Mia had brought him to the academy’s garrison.

He turned to Mia. “What is this?”

At his question, she just rolled her eyes. “Relax, it takes a lot of essence crystals to power all of these enchantments. If they didn’t put specialized guards in place, they would get robbed by some enthusiastic noble family.”

Specialized guards?

He reexamined the building in front of him, there had to be over thirty guards in sight and he wasn’t even inside yet. He found it hard to believe that they could all be specialized.

Dante cleared his throat. “Exactly how powerful is House Calman?”

Mia didn’t hesitate to answer. “They are one of the top three powers in the Outer region, although between those powers they are probably the weakest… House Ailloss and Ramotar have a far more stabilized position than House Calman. Not only are their histories richer and their resources a far greater, but they also control almost double the territory House Calman does in the Outer region.”

He was going to open a new line of questions regarding the guards themselves, but Mia tugged on his sleeve and cut him off. “You don’t have time to gawk like a simpleton, we are already late.”

Begrudgingly he had to admit that she was right… but the sly insult was still unnecessary.

They walked up to the group of guards watching the main entrance, and both of them handed over their identification cards. Access to the building was restricted to residents of Housing Districts 1 and 2. The only other way in was with a prearranged reservation.

He, along with Mia as his servant, had no issue getting inside. They wouldn't have even needed to get a reservation if he hadn't insisted on getting a private room.

The guards waved them through, and the two of them entered the fortress, and he immediately considered walking back out and skipping his reservation.

Upon walking in, he saw four familiar faces, and he wasn’t happy to see any of them.

Standing in front of the reception desk, waiting to get in, were around a dozen nobles. The first three that immediately drew his eye were the bastards that mocked him when the seamstress measured him for his uniform.

The fourth person he noticed, was Kayla. The girl that Greggory had been calling out to before their fight.

It figures that they would be together…

As soon as Mia saw them, she glanced over at him to gauge his reaction, but there was no change in his expression. He had no time for them, he was already late.

He and Mia stepped up behind them, waiting for them to finish so that they could speak to the receptionist.

Things actually went surprisingly well, it seemed that they were only there on a whim, so as soon as they purchased a group room, an attendant walked up to lead them off.

Or at least it did go well, until the tall and lanky noble from the tailoring shop glanced back and noticed him.

He immediately started laughing, then nudged the other two. “Look it’s that skeleton.”

The other two turned around, and when they saw him, they both grinned. The pudgy looking one was the first to speak up. “Where’ve you been hiding?”

The other one, the one that he thought was almost ‘perfect,' was the last to speak. “Ah, our new friend.” He smirked. “We have been looking for you. Where did you wander off to?”

He was the last to speak because as soon as Kayla saw what was going on her face contorted. She quickly stepped out of the crowd of nobles, discreetly motioned for the three of them to be quiet, then walked up to him.

Kayla grabbed onto his arm with both hands, rubbing her cleavage against him, surprising not only him but all the other nobles who were also watching. “Oh wow, I can't believe I finally get to meet you! I saw your fight in the arena the other day, you were absolutely amazing!” She paused to smile at him. “A group of us are going to do some combat simulations. Maybe you could come and give me some pointers?” One of her hands began to slide along his bicep, which was strange considering how thin he was.

What in the hell is going on?

Everyone aside from Mia watched dumbfounded. She just seemed annoyed. “I'm sorry, my lord already has a reservation that he is late for, so he won't be able to join you.”

Kayla looked at him, as if checking to see if what Mia said was true. Then before he could confirm it, began to pout. “Why don’t you just come with us, I'm sure you would have more fun spending time with me instead of being alone with some common servant.”

Something about the way she said that made him irritated. Dante clenched his teeth and forced a smile. “I’m sorry, but I already had plans.”

He turned, trying to go and talk to the receptionist, but Kayla wouldn’t let go. She looked at him with a downcast face. “That’s too bad, I was really looking forward to seeing your moves up close.” Then her face lit up as if she had just thought of something. “There is going to be a… party at the Wise Prince Inn in three days. Since you can’t come with us now, why don’t you make it up to me by being my date?”

Date?

He was thoroughly flustered now. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that going to the party with Kayla would be a good idea. She was one of the people who had set him up in the arena, and although he thought Alexander and Layla were behind it, he still couldn’t be sure. He also very much wanted to know who Mia was working for.

He forced another smile. “I would love to go with you.”

“Then it’s settled… but I still don’t know your name?”

He was somewhat surprised that she didn’t already know it. “It’s Dante.”

“It’s settled then, I’ll send someone to collect you before the party in three days, it starts at eight.” She glanced at Mia, who now looked thoroughly displeased, and gave her a triumphant smile. “I don’t want to waste any more of your training time, so we will be off.” With that, she rejoined the group of nobles and disappeared with them down one of the corridors.

Dante breathed out a sigh of relief. Now that he had handled that, he could finally use the battle simulation he was already paying for. He walked up to the receptionist.

The woman behind the desk looked up and noticed him. “How may I help you, my lord?”

“I’m here to use a private room that I reserved.”

She glanced down to look through the papers. “What is the name of your reservation?”

He had no idea, Mia had made the reservation. He turned back to see what she was doing. “Mia?”

Mia was just standing there, staring blankly at him. “Sorry about that, the reservation name is Dante.”

Kayla Stavins

Jack turned to look back at her. “What in the hell was that?”

That question grabbed the attention of everyone else around them. Clearly, they were all thinking the same thing.

Kayla puffed out her chest in triumph. “That freakish looking boy has the interest of Layla Calman, and now he is going to be mine.”

Jack just snorted. “As if Layla would let you have anything that she wants.”

Kayla swatted him playfully. “She’s not interested in him like that, you moron.”

Thomas was clearly confused; his eyebrows drew together. “Then why else would she be interested in him?”

Kayla could feel the corner of her mouth quirk up. “I’m not sure, but I'm going to find out.”