Dante’s Immortality – Chapter 79

On their way out, they picked up Melisandre and Olivia. Both of them were carrying light travel bags, it seemed like they would also be taking a trip.

Walking out of the inn was a bit awkward, those that hadn’t deserted were hiding beneath something as though the world was going to end. Not everyone had taken his skill as well as Victoria had, despite being further away from him.

The four of them stopped outside of Desas’ gates. Turning to Victoria, Melisandre was the first to speak. “Olivia an I will be leaving now.”

Despite her seemingly obvious words given the context, her voice was full of emotion. Even Victoria was somber. The two of them embraced, and he averted his eyes, not wanting to involve himself in their moment.

Victoria broke off the hug. “I’m sure we will meet again.”

Seeing Melisandre’s doubt, his curiosity was piqued, but he wasn’t going to interrupt when he could just ask Victoria later.

After breaking off from Victoria, Melisandre moved to him. “No bags?”

Dante shrugged “New skill.”

That was all the answer she seemed to need. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him. The hug was… warm. There was no sexual charm in it. It felt nice, really nice. Melisandre turned slightly, bringing him with her before whispering in his ear. “Don’t worry. Your Aunt Mel has everything covered. I’ve spent the last month cooking up plenty of ‘friendship dust’.”

Dante’s eyes widened, and his cheeks turned slightly red. Aunt Mel? Where had that come from? Where Victoria couldn’t see, Melisandre shoved a large bag of powder into his hands. The amount was inconceivable, and he quickly stored it. ‘Friendship dust’ was a cute nickname for an insidious drug they had covered in one of their lessons, and Melisandre’s answer for his trust issues. The tiniest amount of the drug would lower inhibitions, stop someone from remembering anything they experienced, and hinder their ability or desire to lie. The drug was incredibly powerful, and exceedingly hard to make through alchemy. He already had a small vial of the stuff, but it seemed Melisandre had spent every free moment she had cooking it up.

In a twisted way, it was touching.

Melisandre broke off the hug and looked pleased to see his flustered expression. She patted him on the shoulder. “Make sure Victoria tells you how to find me before your training is finished. I’m sure we will meet again.”

He definitely had a few questions for Victoria.

Almost as soon as Melisandre broke away from him, Olivia silently ran up to hug him. Her face was buried into his chest, and for the first time in the past few weeks, she wasn’t trying to seduce him. It was his second pleasant hug of the day.

She broke the hug, and her eyes were slightly red, but thankfully not wet. “You better come and visit.”

Dante gave her that stupid grin that Melisandre had taught him. “Definitely.” He didn’t know where they were going, but it didn’t seem like it was somewhere within reach.

His answer seemed to placate her, and Olivia merrily skipped back to Melisandre.

“See how much charm he has now? And after only one month too. It’s amazing what just a pleasant smile can do.” Melisandre looked at Victoria mischievously. “Since he’s your apprentice, I hope you’ll stay professional when the two of you are alone.”

Both Dante and Victoria simultaneously rolled their eyes.

“Come, Dante, we’re leaving.” Victoria definitely wasn’t one for long goodbyes, immediately after she spoke, she set off at an easy canter, not even checking to make sure he followed.

Melisandre looked unsightly as she watched Victoria leave, and he could see moisture begin to gather in her eyes. “She certainly hasn’t changed much.” She looked at him meaningfully. “Try not to pick up any of her bad habits… Till we meet again, Dante.” Melisandre turned to Olivia. “Let’s go, Olivia.”

The only response from Olivia was a somber smile, and a pleasant wave before she followed Melisandre.

The two of them set off at an unhurried walk. Seeing them depart, part of him felt empty. He had just adjusted to life in Desas, and it was in no way unpleasant. “Bye…” The mumbled word came out without conviction. Dante let out a sigh, then chased after Victoria.

Victoria ran at a slow pace, obviously waiting for him to catch up. She didn’t turn to acknowledge him, nor did she allow him to completely catch up to her. Every time he got close she would pick up her pace.

He didn’t understand why, he had dozens of questions to ask, but resigned himself anyways. When it came to speed, he had no hope of matching her.

They ran at a high speed for almost a full thirty minutes before making it back into the forest edge that led to the mountain range where the assassin’s trained. Shortly after that, they came to a clearing where two massive creatures were harnessed and waiting for them.

He recognized them from his book on creatures, they were raptors. Massive carnivorous birds that were covered in white and grey feathers. Judging by their wingspan, which must have been over 9 meters each, they were still relatively young. The most terrifying aspect of them was their massive curved beaks and razor-sharp talons, according to the book, it made them a two-star threat level.

Unlike plants, which were given a rank based on rarity or medicinal effect, creatures were only ranked if they were dangerous. Anything with just one star was considered something that should be avoided if possible. Most creatures in the book didn’t have a ranking, but even the most terrifying creature in the book was only five stars out of ten possible stars. Of course, the information in the books he managed to acquire was rather limited. The raptors themselves could even reach three stars if they were of the wind elemental variant, which would increase speed, or lightning elemental variant, which would drastically increase their offensive capabilities.

And of course, all of those ratings could pretty much be disregarded when dealing with hybrid creatures, which could potentially be far stronger by inheriting the most terrifying aspects of two compatible creatures. Just thinking of hybrid creatures made his head spin, and he hadn’t even had the opportunity to ask Liza about them.

Dante glanced at Victoria’s back, she probably had a few answers to his questions.

“Where did you find raptors?”

One of the raptors lifted its head back and shrieked. The thunderous cry seemed to pierce the air, but with a single glance from Victoria, it went quiet. “I borrowed them.” For the first time since they left Melisandre, Victoria turned to face him. Her eyes were red and moist, as though she was holding back tears. It took him completely off-guard, and his eyes went slightly wide before he could forcibly restrain his reaction.

He never knew Victoria had an emotional side at all, much less one to this extent. Seeing her in such a state made him exceedingly uncomfortable, and he didn’t know how he should react given the fact that she was his master.

Victoria pushed the fox off of her shoulder and began digging through her bag. “Before we set off, let’s get you bonded.”

It seemed that Victoria’s method of dealing with emotions was ignoring them, which was actually preferable in his opinion, and a breath of fresh air after dealing with Melisandre and Olivia for a month. Still, he didn’t understand why they didn’t just stay in Desas for a few extra days if she wanted to spend more time with Melisandre. It wasn’t as though they were in such a big rush.

After digging out a piece of paper, Victoria handed it to him, and he looked at it quizzically. It had the feel of a mana contract, but it was something more. The lines of the paper, and even the paper itself seemed to be made out of a variety of substances that gave off the feel of power, some of the lines even looked like dried blood. And instead of regular writing, it almost looked like an enchantment, but had none of the grace. Instead of smooth, organized lines, the lines on the paper seemed random and jagged, almost like they were drawn accidentally.

“How do I use this?”

Victoria looked at the fox, and it immediately laid on the floor in submission. “While I subdue it, hold the paper so side with the lines face the fox, then push your mana through it and towards the creature. I suggest you get close.”

Doing as she said, he began to push his mana through the paper. The paper immediately absorbed every bit, but the connection to his mana didn’t lessen, if anything it maintained. When the paper seemed to fill to capacity, he pushed the mana forward, and was surprised when the lines separated from the paper, enclosing around the fox and merging into its body.

Something collided with his mind, but it was immediately subdued by the gloves essence, then shoved inside. Then there was something else. Something that he had never felt before. Like a new extension of senses.

The last few lines finished merging into the fox, and he cut his mana flow from the contract and took stock of the new thing within his mind.

“How is it?”

Victoria’s words broke him out of his thoughts. “I’m not sure. I can feel emotions. Fear, irritation, a lot of curiosity.”

One of Victoria’s eyebrows shot up, an expression that looked somewhat strange in combination with the redness of her eyes. “No headache?”

“No, there was a bit of pressure at the beginning, but it went away.” The bond was actually underwhelming. Other than the new and separate emotions, which he was certain belonged to the fox, there was no other change. “Shouldn’t the bond do a bit more?”

That earned a strained smile from Victoria. “Most can’t feel even the slightest emotions for months, and yet you're complaining. The main function of a bond, at least such a low-level one, is the ability to be understood by a creature and command it.”

Curiosity piqued, Dante turned to the fox. “Sit.” The fox immediately carried out the order, going from a laying down position to a sitting one. Dante held out his hand. “Jump.” There was a moment’s hesitation this time, and he could feel irritation growing in his bond, but the fox did jump into his hand. It didn’t seem to like being ordered frivolously. “Can it refuse an order?”

Victoria shrugged. “It can resist. But you could just force it. I wouldn’t suggest it though. As soon as you lapse mentally, it will turn on you, which wouldn’t be much of a problem with an umbra fox, but it’s still tedious.”

Victoria’s words had merit, and since the creature was no longer attacking him, he didn’t see a point in tormenting it without reason. He went to place it on the floor, but the fox climbed on his shoulder instead, wrapping its tail around his neck. Through the bond, he could feel contentment.

Letting out a sigh, Dante looked up to see a very amused Victoria. “What are you going to name her?”

“Her?” That was slightly disappointing, he had spent so much time alone with women recently that he felt like he needed an ally.

Victoria nodded.

Dante let out another sigh, he didn’t really see the point of naming the fox. “I don’t know. It has an innate stealth skill, what about Shade?”

Victoria’s eyebrows raised slightly, as if the name was stupid. “Shade?”

Dante indignantly pointed to the sky, where Victoria’s bird, Shadow, was flying overhead. Its what had given him the idea. “Shadow?”

“Fair point.”

He nodded. “Thought so. By the way, where are we going?”

Victoria walked over to the raptors and began tying her bags to the harness. “A war is about to start between two warlords of… relatively equal power. For the next year, you will be joining the slightly weaker side in an attempt to win the war.”

There were a few key words there. Namely ‘relatively equal’ and ‘attempt’. “Why would two warlords get involved in a drawn-out fight?” Based on what he had learned from Melisandre’s lessons, that shouldn’t happen. A warlord would never willingly enter a fight that they couldn’t win quickly and with few casualties. It was a lose-lose situation. Even if they won, someone else would just swoop in and try to capitalize on the situation.

“All along the border of the Chaos region, wraiths have been raiding large settlements to acquire more slaves for the upcoming war. Understandably, its led to a mass panic and evacuation for those who occupy that land.”

He could feel a shiver crawl down his spine. “Wraiths? They are already attacking the outer regions?”

Seeing the fear in his eyes, Victoria rolled hers. “It’s not such a big deal. Despite what the church would have you think, wraiths are rather pragmatic. They wouldn’t take in such a large influx of slaves if they didn’t have to.”

His knowledge on wraiths was definitely limited, as Victoria mentioned, it all came from the priests’ lectures. That was still enough to know that they were far from pragmatic though. “Pragmatic? They practically eradicated the outer regions during the last campaign.”

Victoria shrugged. “It doesn’t really matter. The important thing is the upcoming war. The weaker warlord has an open contract with the guild, and I’ve already accepted it. Until the fighting actually starts, we will be behind enemy lines sabotaging the supply lines through ambush.”

That didn’t sound too terrible. With Victoria’s help, he mounted the harness on the back of his raptor, and they were off.