Dante's Immortality: Beginnings

by Antonio Terzini

  The surrounding crowd’s interest only increased at Sir Andres’ words. He couldn’t figure out what the knight was doing. First, he went out of his way to hide his Classification. Then, literally in the next breath, he pretty much told everyone within earshot that he wasn’t a Warrior.

  Not only that, but the knight said that it wouldn’t change the tutelage he would get for free, which meant that there were other things that he could learn at a price. There was still too much he didn’t know about the academy.

  After his explanation to Dante, Sir Andres looked back to the old man questioningly.

  The old man began shuffling through his papers hurriedly, his no-nonsense attitude giving way to a flustered one. “Of course, milord knight, just give me one moment and I’ll have someone escort him to his quarters.”

  Sir Andres just nodded to him, then looked back to Dante. “Your first lesson will be in yard one tomorrow morning, don’t be late.” After that, the Sir Andres walked back through the crowd, which was now making way for him, and left the building. Dante just looked on in silence, he thought that the knight would at least stay with him until he was done enrolling.

  Don’t be late? He didn’t even give me a time…

  The old man in front of him was still shuffling his papers furiously. “Ah, found it!” Pulling a particular paper out of his stack, he grabbed a block of wood that was sitting in a pool of ink off his desk, then stamped the paper with it.

  After that, he opened a drawer under his desked and rummaged around for a moment before pulling out a key. “Alright, everything seems to be in order.” He looked toward his left side where the attendants were standing. “Hobert please escort…” He paused for a moment to look at the paper in front of him. “Dante to his quarters. He will be staying in Housing District 1, building 43, floor 3.”

  The attendant, Hobert, grabbed the key from the old man and turned to Dante. “Please follow me, my lord.” With that, the attendant turned walked back to where he had been standing previously and opened a door to the outside. Hobert stood there with the door open, gesturing to him.

  My lord?

  He wasn’t sure how he felt about being addressed as ‘my lord’, even if it was just an attendant being courteous. His feelings concerning the nobles he had met thus far were complicated to say the least.

  Without wasting any more time, Dante followed the attendant out of the building.

  The nobles in line, who had been staring at the scene wide-eyed, watched him intently as he left. Their examining gazes were more than uncomfortable.

  As they walked, similarly to Sir Andres, the attendant didn’t say a single word. Dante assumed that the man would engage in conversation with him if he asked him too, but he had no interest in talking to the attendant in the loud streets, even if he could answer some of his questions.

  The walk towards Housing District 1 wasn’t far. If the streets weren’t so crowded, it would have probably taken roughly ten minutes, but as they moved at the crawling pace of those around them, it took around half an hour. So far, he hadn’t seen a street within the academy that wasn’t crowded, but it was still around noon, so he held out hope the crowds would eventually die down.

  Housing District 1 itself stood far apart from the rest of the academy. The buildings were all identical, and ornately decorated with three floors each. Not only was the entire thing surrounded by a guarded gate, but the lawns in front of the buildings were also immaculately manicured. Thus far, it was the nicest area of the academy he had seen.

  Hobert lead him to the gate in front of Housing District 1 where two guards were standing watch. As soon as the two of them noticed them, Hobert gestured toward him. “This is Dante, he is a new resident of building 43 floor 3. He is a personal guest of House Calman and doesn’t have an identification card yet, so don’t cause problems for him.”

  Without waiting for a response, Hobert motioned to Dante and walked through the gate. He was expecting the guards to be at least slightly upset at the treatment, but as soon as they heard he was a personal guest of House Calman, they just stood a little bit straighter and more attentive while they nodded at Hobert’s words.

  Perhaps telling Layla and Alexander his Classification wasn’t a mistake after all.

  Hobert then led him to building 43. It wasn’t hard to find, as they walked through the gate buildings 25 and 26 were directly in front of them. All they had to do was continue walking down the line until they reached 43.

  Upon reaching building 43, Hobert led him up the stairs on the outside to the third story. “Here you are my lord, Housing District 1 building 43 floor 3, your new residency.” Hobert opened the door with the key the old man had given him, then handed it to Dante and turned to leave.

  Seeing the man leave, he panicked. He had no idea where anything was in the academy. He cleared his throat, catching the attention of the attendant. “I have a few items that I need to sell, is there a place I could do that?”

  “Yes, the trading district. But I would wait until your servant comes and brings your identification card before leaving Housing District 1, even though I warned the guards, they are completely incompetent.” Hobert’s expression twisted slightly, as if just thinking of the guards was distasteful.

  “What servant?”

  Hobert saw the confused look on Dante’s face and hurriedly answered him. “I’m terribly sorry my lord, but retainers aren’t allowed for students of the academy. Therefore, as a resident of Housing District 1, one will be provided to you by House Calman. They should be here within the hour with your identification card.”

  He actually thinks I have retainers?

  Dante glanced down at his tattered clothing, then back up at Hobert, trying to perceive whether or not the attendant was having fun at his expense. Unable to tell, he dismissed him. “Thank you for your help.”

  After dismissing the attendant, Dante entered the third floor of the house, now full of excitement. He had rarely even seen the inside of any home, much less had one that he was staying in himself.

  Stepping inside, he was blown away. The initial room was fully furnished; drapes over the windows, carpets, two couches, and even a circular wooden table with six chairs surrounding it. Even though the walls and floors were just made out of standard wood, the room looked amazing. There were three doors that seemed to connect to adjoining rooms, and Dante immediately ran to inspect them.

  The first door to the left opened to a small kitchen, it was fully equipped with enchanted equipment, the cost of enchantments must have been ridiculous. There were other things inside as well, like cutting boards, knives, pots, and pans. Dante looked at each of them closely, but he had never used any of the items before and didn’t know how to evaluate their quality. He didn’t see many other items of note, so turned and left.

  After leaving the kitchen, Dante checked inside the other door that was on the left side of the room. It was a bedroom. He didn’t even notice anything else in the room, just the bed.

  In his entire life, the most comfortable thing he had slept on was a bundle of rough blankets. Looking at the full mattress and plush pillows in front of him, he was speechless.

  Dante slowly walked up to it. Reaching down, he began feeling the firm, yet soft mattress and the cloud-like pillows.

  Immediately giving up on any thoughts of searching the rest of his new living quarters, Dante crawled on the bed and went to sleep.

  Chapter 16

  Dante’s Immortality - Chapter 16

  Herman

  Herman was walking through the crowded streets of the academy with a rare smile on his expressionless face.

  I am finally going to leave this piece of shit.

  As soon as he arrived at the academy, he was ready to drop Greggory off and leave, but the registration process took an entire three days.

  Three days of Greggory’s incessant complaining and begging.

  That was all behind him though. They had finally finished registration, and he would b
e able to have some peace and quiet at long last.

  “I demand to be taken home immediately.” Greggory was out of breath and panting behind him, trying to keep up with his rushed pace. Herman continued plowing through anyone who got in his way, determined to finally drop Greggory off. “Aren’t you listening to me? They are trying to stick me in Housing District 3! Don’t they know I’m of noble blood? It was bad enough that they didn’t put me in Housing District 1, but not even Housing District 2? I refuse!”

  Instead of turning back to answer Greggory, he just increased his pace. The reason their registration had taken three days was because the utter moron trailing behind him had demanded to register for Housing District 1 on the first day, which is where the minor nobles from the Outer region reside.

  After wasting their entire day, and despite knowing he should be in Housing District 3; Greggory then demanded they wait in the line for Housing District 2, which was meant for the largest noble houses in the Outer Edge region. After yet another day wasted, Herman dragged him into the line for Housing District 3, and now he would finally be rid of him.

  Greggory snorted at Herman’s silence. “These idiots can’t recognize a real noble when they see one.”

  * * *

  Mia

  Mia walked towards Housing District 1.

  It was challenging to keep the limp out of her step, but she managed it. Her body was in an incredible amount of pain, Layla didn’t give her time to get healed properly after arriving at the academy, just told her to cover her wounds and get to her new assignment.

  Taking care of a random boy that they found, is this what I’ve been reduced to?

  Taking care of him wasn’t the problem, it was how Layla wanted her to do it that gave her misgivings. She was being treated like some common whore…

  It didn’t even make sense, none of it made sense. She couldn’t understand why it was so important for her to get so close to someone they picked up in the Outer Edge region… or why they wanted her to get that close.

  She glanced down at his identification card.

  Name: Dante

  Classification(s): Warrior

  Living Quarters: Housing District 1 – Building 43 – Floor 3

  Arena Rank: Bronze (0/25 Credit Earned)

  Arena Team: None

  Arena Team Rank: N/A

  Credit: 0

  It was hard to believe she was going through all of this effort for someone with a mere Warrior Classification.

  As Mia approached the front gate, the guards standing watch noticed her. “Residents and authorized personnel only.”

  Mia flashed the two men a winning smile and pulled out her new identification card. “I’m a new servant for Dante. He is located in building 43, floor 3.”

  As soon as the two guards heard the name Dante, they quickly moved aside. “Of course, our apologies for interrupting you.”

  Interesting.

  It seemed like the guards were already familiar with him. Hopefully that was a good sign. She walked through the gate and immediately headed toward building 43.

  It didn’t take long before she was outside of what would be her new living quarters. Mia took a deep breath, not sure what she was expecting. Praying to the Goddess he was, at the very least, not a disgusting slob. She knocked softly on the door, ready to meet her new ‘master’.

  No answer.

  Mia knocked again, louder this time. Still no answer.

  Great. She was told that he would be waiting for her in his quarters. As if her day hadn’t been bad enough before she lost the commoner that she was supposed to be seducing. She didn’t even know how she was supposed to find him, not only is the academy massive, but she had no idea what he even looked like.

  Mia couldn’t help but release a groan.

  I might as well just wait for him inside and hope he finds his way back.

  She pulled the spare key she had been given out of her pocket and tried to unlock the door.

  Not only did he leave, but he left the door unlocked.

  Her opinion of the commoner was steadily falling. As Mia pushed through the doorway, she did a doubletake.

  The door to the servant’s room was open, and he was inside, laying on her bed. Mia stood there, eye twitching, staring at him in indignation. She was supposed to be seducing him. Somehow, in her mind, that was bearable. Seeing him laying across her bed, waiting for her, was revolting.

  A few deep breaths later, she felt like she had her emotions somewhat under control. Stepping slowly, Mia walked into the servant’s room. To her relief, he seemed to be sound asleep.

  The commoner, or Dante, looked strange to say the least. His silver hair and skinny, yet tall frame with tattered clothing made him look nightmarish.

  She could see why Layla would take an interest in him, based on his appearance alone, but she still didn’t understand why she needed to get closer to him.

  She walked over to the other side of the bed so that she could check his face.

  Surprisingly, not bad. His face was somewhat handsome, slightly gaunt, but it would fill out if he ate more. It tied in nicely with his strong brow. Altogether, his appearance would be best described as charismatic, at least if he ate more… and took a bath.

  When was the last time he bathed?

  Mia was still staring at his face when his eyes flicked open, and immediately recoiled.

  In the name of the Goddess, his eyes are red!

  Mia fell down against the wall behind her, staring at him in shock. The commoner sat up, seeing her fall to the floor a hint of panic flashed across his face. “I’m sorry.” Then he reached down to help her up.

  As he tried to pull her up, the injuries in her body flared. She grimaced in pain before she could stop herself. This time, the boy recoiled, looking hurt at her reaction to his touch.

  Mia groaned internally.

  I completely botched this introduction… maybe I can still save it though.

  Mia cleared her throat, and chose to go in a direction he would enjoy more. She put on her most innocent expression. “Why were you sleeping in my bed?”

  The commoner looked at the bed for a long moment, then back at her. “This is your bed?” He looked completely devastated. “Does that mean I can’t sleep in it?”

  Mia could feel her cheeks heat up, and knew her face must have been crimson… He didn’t know it was her bed? Clearly, she had made a slight misjudgment in her approach. “This is the servant’s bedroom, yours is on the other side of the building.”

  He breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, is there a bed in my room?”

  What kind of question is that?

  Mia gave him her best smile. “Of course there is.”

  His devastated expression was immediately gone, and he almost looked happy as he rushed out of the room.

  Thank the Goddess.

  The entire situation seemed to turn around on the realization that there was a bed in his room… She didn’t understand but decided not to question it for now.

  Letting out a relieved sigh, Mia followed him out of the room.

  Chapter 17

  Dante’s Immortality – Chapter 17

  Dante practically ran out of the room, trying to get away from the person who he assumed was the servant that Hobert had mentioned. He didn’t think their first meeting had gone very well. Actually, he was fairly certain that she hated him.

  It wasn’t his fault, it was the beds. He had never slept so well in his life, it was completely disorienting. He couldn’t even remember where he was or what he was doing when he had first awoken.

  As he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. Fair skinned, with midnight black hair. Her pouty lips, petite nose, and thin eyebrows accented the delicate features on her face. She was absolutely stunning. The only person that he had even met that could compare to her would have been Layla, but even though the girl in front of him couldn’t have been more than twenty, she gave off a matur
e air that Layla couldn’t compare with.

  He only had a moment to look at her. Blinking away the sleepiness in his eyes, while wondering whether or not he was still asleep and in a dream, the girl in front of him suddenly stumbled and fell back against the wall behind her.

  He started to panic and began stuttering out an apology. For what, he didn’t know. He just had a sudden urge to help the girl who had fallen in front of him. That was when reality came crashing down around him.

  As soon as he touched her, she grimaced. She tried to hide it, but it was noticeable.

  Somehow, in his disorientation, he had forgotten how much his appearance frightened and angered others. As quickly as he could, he backed off of her in an attempt to give her space, but things only went downhill from there.

  After the revulsion was gone, she looked up at him with a blank, yet slightly confused expression. “Why were you sleeping in my bed?”

  He turned around to look at the bed for a moment. “This is your bed?” The realization that the bed wasn’t his was emotionally crushing. “Does that mean I can’t sleep in it?”

  He didn’t realize how that had sounded, or the implications that could be behind it, until after he said it. The girl became so angry that her entire face turned crimson.

  He had no idea what to do, but was relieved when she took control of the conversation. “This is the servant’s bedroom, yours is on the other side of the building.”

  Dante let out an involuntary sigh. He was flustered from the girl’s looks alone, but her anger was completely destroying any confidence he might have had in rectifying the situation. “Oh, is there a bed in my room?”

  Stupid. Of course there is…

  She smiled at him, as though he were an idiot. “Of course there is.”

  Thrilled to finally have an excuse to leave, Dante practically ran to inspect the bed in his room.

  And now, he was almost positive she hated him. She most likely thought he was an idiot as well. If she was a servant for other nobles, there would be no way for him to match her expectations.