"Hong, can you wait for me a bit? I still have something to do here."

Dante looked greedily at all the books and furniture in Carack's ex-office, he couldn't help but sigh as he remembered the hardships and dangers he braved when he was in the Dungeon.

"Of those who managed to get into the top ten of the rookie tournament, I was the only one who didn't have a Commander level teacher. They didn't want to waste any nurturing on someone who had his cultivation path cut off by a disease, I had to work far harder than anyone else, always accepting high-risk missions to obtain Dungeon points...

Even after doing all that I only became a somewhat bigger ant."

Dante still remembered the disdain and indifference he received from those that he once laughed with and regarded as his friends.

All of this only fueled his greed even more.

Seeing Dante's wolf-like eyes, Hong hurriedly replied.

"No problem, you have completed the mission faster than I thought, a bit of delay won't matter."

Dante averted his eyes while Hong breathed a sigh of relief.

"That gaze sure gives the chills, it's like being stared at by a starved werebeast."

Hong was about to ask him what had piqued his interest when, under his incredulous eyes, Dante looted everything in the office.

Books, furniture, paintings, he didn't spare even the curtains!

Every time his eyes fell on something

Hong watched befuddled as Dante swept the office clean, the green glow in Dante's eyes was even more noticeable.

Hong watched with a look of admiration on his face, those fluid movements were a feast for the eyes.

"His control of spiritual power is exceptional, but the way he is skillfully taking anything valuable... It looks like this isn't the first time he does it."

Hong didn't know that before joining his friend's gang, Dante robbed houses for a living.

His skill came from years of experience!

If someone were to enter the office now, he would never think that just a while ago it was entirely furnished.

"Hehehe, it seems like my skill has become a bit rusty... It's been nine years since the day my parents died...

Time sure flies fast."

Entering the Dungeon didn't end Dante's career as an amateur thief, in fact, his ability proved useful on his path as an elite scout.

With his cultivation being limited to the peak of the Soldier level, Dante could only choose the most suitable path for him.

His hope was to one-day breakthrough to Lieutenant level and cure his disease.

Hong obviously didn't know Dante's background, when he snapped out of his reverie he couldn't help but ask while shaking his head.

"I don't understand, with your Commander level power and background, why would you care about those inanities?

These books only contain foundational knowledge while the furniture even if it's of high quality, it isn't worth the hassle.

In the end, a few tens of thousands of gold coins are only pocket money for the likes of us who pursue the Dao!"

Hong couldn't help but get a bit emotional at this point, he had lived for a few hundred years already and he was extremely clear of the value of money.

Even if it was useful, it couldn't compare with cultivating the Dao at all.

Obsession could be seen in Hong's eyes, his voice louder and louder.

"Life! At the pinnacle of cultivation, it's possible to revive the dead!

Even if a price has to be paid, we cultivators naturally go against the heavens.

Sacrifice has always been a part of cultivation!"

A gleam of madness appeared in Hong's eyes, a dark aura of death briefly appeared on him, but it disappeared as soon as it came.

Dante obviously noticed Hong's state but didn't ask him anything out of respect for him.

When the time comes, he would know about those things.

However, Dante raged when he heard those words.

He almost forgot that he was talking to a General level when he said.

"Only foundational knowledge? Do you know how much I toiled for this shit, years ago?

I had to risk my life every day just to read them! I dare you to say that again."

Hong was dumbstruck by Dante's words, he thought that Dante was an exceptional genius groomed by some powerful organization.

He could see that Dante was still young thanks to his cultivation, in fact, Dante wasn't even twenty yet.

In any organization, even in the fearsome Hell Dungeon, it was praiseworthy for someone to attain Commander level before the age of twenty.

This can be accomplished only with incredible resources nurturing them and great talent, exceptions would be bloodline holders.

Bloodline holders were descendants of King level and higher powerhouses with a bloodline at least 40% pure, who underwent their first bloodline awakening.

They would have a headstart in cultivation but would need much more resources to breakthrough due to their special bodies and souls.

"Is he from one of those ancient powers who train their disciples harshly?"

Hong couldn't help but marvel, it was extremely difficult for rouge cultivators to reach Commander level before turning twenty.

It has to be remembered that all this was under the assumption that Dante had been nurtured since his birth.

If Hong were to know that Dante had broken through two levels in just a week, he would probably go mad on the spot

"Maybe he was sent here by his organization to gain experience... Well, he wouldn't be the first to do that."

Noticing that Dante was still staring at him fiercely, Hong harrumphed before saying.

"Let's go, we are already behind your schedule!

Little thief, this next month is gonna be really busy for you."

Seeing the evil grin on Hong's face, Dante's previous ferociousness was nowhere to be seen.

A cold chill ran down his spine when he thought about the words he said just now.

What was he thinking about?

In the past he never let his emotions take control of him, even when, years ago, he heard the doctor's diagnosis he only stared blankly for a brief moment before recovering his composure.

When he heard, little thief, he also felt some anger well up inside him.

"What is happening to me?"

Dante's mental state had already reached 'Iron level' which meant he had a tranquil heart capable of managing intense emotions without producing many ripples in his heart.

He could easily defend against low-levelled illusion and with a great deal of effort he could fend off even mid-grade illusions.

Just as he began to panic, an ice-cold energy spread from the centre of his forehead.

The freezing aura chilled the office, it was a mid-summer noon but in that moment the office seemed to come out of the harshest of winters.

Dante felt his thoughts slow as his previously emotional and unstable state disappeared.

He felt in complete control of himself, his tranquil eyes seemed as calm as a windless sea.

However, under that calm, a storm was brewing.

Hong noticed Dante's change, but other than giving him a deep look, he didn't do anything else.

"There are at least two bloodline powers clashing in his body, both of them still have to go through their first awakening but they can already cause such a disturbance..."

With a dry voice, Hong asked.

"Who are you, Dante?"

If Dante heard Hong's question, he would probably laugh himself to death.

He lost count of how many times he asked himself that same question again and again in the last ten years.

However, he was too absorbed in his thoughts to hear Hong's question.

"Is this the Silver level of mental state?"

His thinking speed was extremely fast, in the blink of an eye, he knew that it wasn't.

The only thing that he was really knowledgeable of, was mental state.

No one ever

"This should only be a heightened mental state, it's not permanent.

When this state ends, I will probably return to the previous state or even worse.

If handled poorly my cultivation could even go berserk without me knowing.

The only question is, how long will I remain in this state?"

Dante didn't waste any time, he quickly inspected his body with his mental energy.

"Nothing, the problem isn't in my Dantian nor in my mental energy dimension...

Could it be related to those two entities lying in my blood?"

Dante tried to delve into his bloodstream with his consciousness once again.

Again that roar he heard last night shook his mental energy dimension, this time Dante was barely able to hold onto his consciousness and resist the power of rejection.

He was able to do that only thanks to his heightened mental state.

Then he saw it.

"Those two again..."

It was a battle between a Purple-Eyed Demon and a Seven-Colored Dragon, they seemed to possess a will of their own as they fought with incredible power shaking everything.

They each radiated an aura of their own, the majority of the Purple-Eyed Demon's aura would flow towards his forehead, only a part to his eyes, while the Seven-Colored Dragon would destroy his cells and nurture the new ones.

Every time they exchanged blows, billions of cells would die before being replaced by new ones.

The new cells would be sturdier as they absorbed the seven-colored aura of the Dragon.

Battles like this were fought in each of Dante's 123 meridians, shockingly Dante found that the previous dark meridians filled with impurities were now shining brightly and expanding as they shook everytime the man and the dragon exchanged blows.

"If it goes on like this, I will probably die in half a year."

The rate at which the new cells were being produced was lagging behind the rate of their destruction.

His body was trying his best to adapt, but the rate at which the new cells reproduced was slower as they lived far longer than Dante's old cells and required far more energy to be produced.

His body was coping with the problem by 'eating' the old dead cells and using them as fuel.

Even his brain was affected, the reason his mental state was so unstable was due to his brain slowly dying at the hands of this forced "evolution".

"I hope that the Death Mark will be able to give me a solution or I'm pretty much on my way to the coffin...

What my body lacks should be 'fuel' which means I need large quantities of food or any sort of energy.

I can temporarily solve the problem by channelling my spiritual power to all of my body, but that will leave me stuck at mid-stage Commander level."

Just when Dante was about to retract his consciousness, he noticed something which shocked him to the core.

In his heart, there was a Man with beast-like appearance and an Orc with a battleaxe in his hands.

They weren't fighting, a green restorative aura was emitted from them as they sat, shoulder to shoulder in the lotus position.

Dante immediately recognized the man, he was the Beastman called Fenrir who left the legacy of his race to him.

Fenrir and the Orc seemed much more corporeal than the dragon and the Purple-Eyed Demon.

The green aura was reshaping Dante's heart, making it more powerful and robust.

With every heartbeat, the regenerative powers of the green aura would flow through Dante's body, slowing the rate at which it degenerated.

Dante had the feeling that when his heart completed the transformation, his heartbeats would be as thunderous as tribulation lightning.

"Without this green aura, my body would probably crumble after two months."

Dante felt extreme clarity in that moment, having a deadline made everything more simple.

He heaved a sigh of relief when he thought of how dangerous it would have been if he didn't discover it now.

"I should deal with the current mission first, then I will search for the solution.

If I show too much weakness they will take advantage of it."

Dante's eyes regained their focus, the first thing he did was to look at a corner.

In his heightened state his senses were far more developed than before, thanks to them he found a hidden corner in Carack's office.

With a heavy punch, the metal wall collapsed, revealing a stash of money and valuables such as talismans and expensive wines.

There was even a ballista aimed at the entrance of the office.

Now he knew why Carack was so confident in his chances.

He put them all in his spatial ring, he would give them to Carack and Basil a month later.

When he turned around, he saw Hong's dumbstruck face.

"A General level like me couldn't detect that hidden corner even with my Divine Sense...

Is that wall made of some special material?"

This time, Hong's greed had been aroused. Materials capable of blocking Divine sense were incredibly valuable, they could fetch a hundred thousand gold coins for just a kilogram.

Hong tried to hide his interest, but it was too late.

How could this escape Dante's heightened perception? He immediately noticed that the wall should be made of some exceptional material if even Hong couldn't detect that hidden corner.

He was just about to put all of it in his spatial ring when he had an idea.

"Hong, if I give you half of these materials, can you keep silent about the matter of Carack becoming my slave?

I don't want any trouble, I'm sure that this gift will be the beginning of a good friendship!"

Hong hurriedly nodded, since the beginning, he never intended to say anything about the matter.

However, he still accepted the offer as he didn't want to look suspicious by refusing.

As he saw more and more of Dante's abilities he grew more and more resolute.

First, it was his cultivation, then his bloodline powers and in the end his amazing perception.

However, it was that faint roar who made even his Nascent Soul tremble that truly convinced him.

He knew that Dante was someone not to be trifled with. If he managed to befriend him it would only bring him good fortune.

From now on he would treat him as an equal.

"Sure! Let's go to the Assassination Guild then, this is only the beginning of your training.

There are still many things that you will learn with us!"

Dante smiled, now he could rest assured about that matter.

"Let's go!"

Leaving the dilapidated office, the two made their way back to the Assassin's Guild.

Their pockets were heavier, at the expenses of a certain merchant.

While walking they joked about how Carack would react when he came to check that hidden corner later.

The orc in question sneezed several times that day, even if it was summer.