The day was rainy. The redhead boy was sitting on a bench in one of the inner parks of the academy, watching the rain fall. His thoughts were confused, and his dreams had shaken him too much to ignore them. Moreover, if he were to return to his dormitory now, there was the risk of giving in and going after Sara, who would probably never refuse his advances.
However, he was reserving himself as much as possible to not succumb to his desires, especially if it meant corrupting one of the virtues.
Though he seemed fine, every day the dreams had been worsening. With each passing day, more traumatic memories emerged, and it was driving him crazy.
Not just crazy, but possessed. He wanted to find out what happened in his past life, what led him to travel to this land?
His questions always boiled down to just one.
"Who am I?"
Throughout the day, his mind often returned to this same point, this same question, and the answer? He couldn't even think about it anymore.
It was a day off, but he had things to do.
Dante woke up early and took his shower, leaving the dormitory without even saying "Good morning" to Sara, and disappeared. He needed some time alone, and it led him to the park.
There, he pondered about his current life. Honestly, he even considered if he was in a dream. Not that he didn't value his current life, but compared to the memories of the traumas from his previous life, living there felt like a dream.
He could be himself, love the people who loved him, and above all, be strong to defend himself. However, something seemed wrong about this whole reincarnation story.
Unfortunately, he couldn't dwell on it too much at that moment. He needed to go to the library in the morning to receive the prize from the competition. But did he want that? No, he didn't even care about the prizes. He just wanted to show off. In the beginning, it was the Director who wanted to antagonize him in front of everyone.
Dante found himself in front of the imposing Magic Tower, with its carved pillars and images of famous wizards adorning its structure. Even though Dante didn't recognize the faces carved there, he simply moved forward and entered the place.
"Welcome, Demon King," greeted the receptionist, bowing slightly. She seemed to be an Alice Witch, with wavy black hair and a purple hat, similar to Morgana's.
"Hello, I'm here at the director's request," Dante replied, and the receptionist nodded, indicating that he should follow the instructions left by the Director.
"Come," she said, leading the way. Dante floated alongside her as they ascended to the top floor.
"You have half an hour to choose only one item from this floor, remembering that only the Sealed Black Orb at the end of the room is prohibited," explained the receptionist when they reached the Top Floor Vault.
"A separate dimension, I imagine. It reads the mana signature of the person passing through and detects whether they are an ally or not. If it's an enemy, it sends them to a different dimension and traps them. Uncle Simon does a good job," commented Dante as he observed the place, examining an item in one of the display cases - some kind of ancient crown.
"Are you going to watch me the whole time, Director?" Dante asked, and a man appeared by his side as he looked at the crown.
"Managed to sense my presence in another dimension... impressive," Gaspar said, scratching his beard.
"Look at the ground, old man," Dante retorted, and Gaspar turned, noticing the footprints marked on the floor.
For a moment, Dante and Gaspar stood in a deadly silence, but soon Dante couldn't contain himself and started laughing. Gaspar soon joined him with a chuckle. "Hahaha," echoed through the room.
"Clean up," Gaspar said, and all the dust dissipated, leaving the room impeccably clean. "Come on, boy, I have a trip to make," he remarked, turning and casually walking through the area.
As Dante followed Gaspar, he observed the relics before him. Though impressive, nothing really caught his attention. From weapons and armor to magical orbs, staves, and ancient books, nothing seemed to pique Dante's interest. For a legendary library, as it had been propagated, it seemed surprisingly empty.
"This old man took away the valuable stuff," Dante concluded, realizing that his assessment ability was poor, which was probably the case after all, considering Dante was only thirteen years old.
[Akaneshe], Dante read as he observed a majestic spear in front of him. "Lancelot's favorite weapon," he thought. "They said this immaculate and shining weapon possessed the sharpest blade ever forged in Camelot."
"Arthur and Merlin, now Lancelot... The Arthurian legends are haunting me," he murmured to himself.
"I know you're a spear specialist, but this one might end up killing you with its holy power," remarked the Director, returning to the side of the boy who was staring fixedly at the spear.
Dante focused his senses on the spear and perceived its properties. He clearly wanted to grab this weapon, especially since he already had Excalibur stored away, but unfortunately, it was impossible at that moment.
"Holy power... it's a pity I have to hold off on claiming the title of hero until I can fully defend myself," thought Dante, resigned.
Dante returned to his exploration, observing the other items. Fortunately, something caught the boy's attention: a strange mana slowly beckoned to him as he walked.
He turned to where the mana pointed and saw a pair of black earrings with black jewels.
"Director, what is this item?" Dante asked because unlike the other items in the room, there was no identification for the pair of earrings.
"It's called Kynee. Despite the immense amount of mana, it has no practical use," Gaspar said as he opened the showcase where the earrings were displayed.
'Kynee... It's the same feeling as Durandal...,' Dante thought.
"I'll take this," Dante said as he approached and held the pair of black earrings. He couldn't be mistaken.
"Are you sure, boy? There are several items more special than that," Gaspar asked, but Dante ignored him and quickly pierced both his ears and put on the earrings.
Originally, he didn't have piercings because he always regenerated, but he did it without a second thought. It was as if the mana of the earring was screaming to him.
"Well, if that's what you want... Your reward has been given," Gaspar said as he turned around. "You still have some time. If you want to head down to the library and take a look, it's up to you. I have to go to Umbral now," he said and teleported away.
"Weird old man," Dante said as he opened the exit door.