"Dante! Follow me, there is something we have to discuss."

Dante had performed brilliantly in the Dungeon's rookie tournament as he managed to enter the top ten with much effort.

Now even the General wanted to talk to him!

However, something felt off to him as the General only called him without saying anything to the other rankers.

Nonetheless, he still followed after with an excited smile on his face.

That was the best day of his life! He could finally see a ray of hope after many tribulations.

"Excuse me General, but where are we going?"

Dante had a bad premonition, he thought that they were going to the Armory to take the rewards for the rankers but it didn't seem so.

They were going to the Infirmary.

"You will know soon..."

The complicated look on the General's face grew heavier as they neared the Infirmary.

They were about to knock on the door when a grey-haired elf with a scar on his face welcomed them.

The moment he saw Dante a look of understanding appeared on the elf's face.

"Greetings General! You should be Dante the one who ranked 4th in the tournament, come in, come in.

I'm doctor Howl, I had the General look for you because of a really important matter."

After welcoming them the doctor's face turned grave.

Dante took a sit, but seeing that the other two didn't he was about to stand up again.

However just as he was going to stand up, the doctor told him something which shocked him to the core.

"Dante you should remember that before the tournament every rookie had to go through a total check-up.

You don't have to worry, your health is perfectly fine as you don't have any diseases.

However, there's something very important I have to tell you.

Dante, you have a special physique, in a normal case that would have been a blessing but the 'Degenerated Poison Body' that you have is actually one of those exceptions."

The doctor stopped for a moment to make sure that Dante understood everything.

Dante went on a rollercoaster of emotions, he felt anxious then relieved then anxious again.

However this time his anxiety was followed by a deep sense of foreboding.

Dante didn't say anything as he was too focused on the doctor's words.

"Due to your special physique you will forever remain at the soldier level without any hope of breaking through to Lieutenant level, Dante you have to stay strong I know that you were regarded as a genius before and it will be difficult for you... However, you have to not let this affect you... Dante, are you hearing me? Dante!"

...

Waking up, Dante was covered in sweat but he quickly calmed himself as it wasn't the first time this happened.

"That dream again... Even now that I have the Death Mark and I'm about to breakthrough to Commander level... I still let it affect me."

It was the first time Dante slept in a year, he thought that it would be good to sleep after so many things happened in the last days.

Many cultivators chose to meditate instead of sleeping as it was far better for their cultivation and they would still be able to maintain their peak mental states, Dante didn't meditate for his cultivation, but as a form of stubbornness.

Cultivators rarely had dreams and it was even stranger for them to dream the same thing again and again, many times it was a sign of the presence of a heart demon.

"Now that I've already woken up I should begin my final preparations."

After taking a shower and changing clothes, Dante went to the manager and told her to not let anyone disturb him for the next six hours.

She agreed without asking anything, she had seen too many people and knew that everyone had his secrets.

Locking the door, Dante took a deep breath before entering the inner-world.

...

"Dante, you should be here to visit the Library, isn't it?"

The moment he arrived at the barren land, Rayleigh's voice greeted him.

His Master's appearance was the same as always except for a strange looking hat on his head.

"Master, what is that hat? Where did you find it?"

Rayleigh was clearly pleased by Dante's question as he answered with a broad smile.

"This? hehe, it's named 'Fez' my disciple. Roxelane gifted me this wonderful hat when I visited her yesterday."

Dante was even more confused now, who was this Roxelane?

"Teacher, who are you talking about?"

Rayleigh seemed annoyed by Dante's question as he replied.

"Boy, didn't you enter the inner-world to meet her? Look, you don't even know what you're doing. You can't meet her dressed this way! Look, I just managed to obtain some nice looking clothes. She will love them!

Quick change your clothes or I won't let you meet her."

Dante was stunned by Rayleigh's current state.

"Has teacher gone mad?"

He had come to the conclusion that this Roxelane should be the Librarian, but he still had the impression that there was something strange about this woman.

He didn't dare delay as he swiftly changed his clothes. Dante had the feeling that Rayleigh would expel him from the inner-world if he angered him.

"Look at this nice looking demon we have here, the galabeya she gave me really suits you.

Now you can to the Library, remember to be nice to her or you won't be able to regret your life choices..."

Rayleigh wore a satisfied smile on his face, he was clearly happy with Dante's clothing but that final threat made the smile look a bit creepy.

"Yes, Teacher..."

Dante was speechless, it was the first time something like this happened. His previously calm and collected teacher now looked like a dad threatening his daughter's boyfriend...

As he couldn't make head nor tail of the situation, Dante decided to look at his current outfit before going to the Library.

It looked like a robe but it had no collar and had wider sleeves, it was purple in colour with five golden bats sewn on it.

"Master what are those strange looking werebeasts and why are they sewn on the... How did you call it? Ah, galabeya?"

Rayleigh seemed to forget his previous self as he replied with a puzzled look.

"I don't really know, she only told me that they are known as bats and they symbolize some pretty good things which are longevity, wealth, health, love of virtue and peaceful death.

Roxelane told me that where she comes from mortals always sought these things, but I dare say that these are the things that almost everyone seeks."

Dante revealed a look of understanding, even he desired these things. What was the meaning of cultivation? In the end, everyone did it for their own sake, to improve their lives and of those around them.

Dante felt like he had been enlightened by his teacher's words as he quickly thanked him before heading off to the Library.

...

"I'm finally here... The Library is really my last resort. if I don't manage to find anything about bloodline manifestation I will really have to leave everything to Lady Luck."

When someone enters a Library he would expect towering shelves full of many types of books with a thick scent of paper in the air.

However, to Dante's bewilderment, none of this could be found in this Library.

From outside the Library was grand and majestic, anyone who looked at it would think that the books it held numbered in the thousands, no one would dare imagine such a scene upon entering.

There were only two shelves and even these two were absolutely empty, Dante even touched them with his hands to make sure that he wasn't seeing things.

Furthermore, the "Library" looked more like a room than anything else, was there some sort of scheme against him?

"I finally get to see the new owner of the Death Mark, what a surprise..."

A sweet and gentle voice travelled to Dante's ears as he turned around to look at the source of it, his mouth was left agape.

Her appearance was stunning with a curvaceous body that couldn't be hidden by the robe, but that wasn't what left Dante speechless, it was her demeanour.

The only time Dante felt the same thing from a woman was that time when the Imperial Consort of the Demon Emperor visited the Dungeon.

Royalty, that was the only way to describe it. The aura of someone who finds leading countries as natural as breathing.

Dante was roused from his reverie only by Roxanne's next words.

"I would have never expected that a little Lieutenant level like you had something I couldn't see through... Impressive, even your predecessors weren't able to hide anything from me..."