Drake was in the peaceful world of his deep dream. A continuous sound entered his ear, as knocking sounds sounded, awakening him from his sleep.
Opening his eyes and standing up as he wiped the drool that ran into his mouth. He headed towards the door. Opening the door, he looked at who was knocking. It was a servant, who with a bow began to speak.
"Young Master, Mister Dante is summoning you to his office" The servant said as a slight expression of discomfort could be seen forming on his face.
Drake nodded, then closed the door. Looking at himself, with his tattered clothes, smell of sweat and blood. He decided he should at least take a shower before meeting anyone.
Looking around his room, he saw what looked like the door to his personal bathroom.
Upon opening the door, his vision found a relatively ordinary bathroom, there was a toilet and a bathtub, which seemed to be made of some material like porcelain or ceramic. Approaching the bathtub, Drake turned on one of the faucets above the bathtub, which strangely poured hot water.
Removing his clothes, he carefully stepped into the hot water, which instantly brought a relaxing feeling to his body and mind. Closing his eyes, Drake allowed himself to rest for a moment.
After a few minutes, after showering. Drake came out of the bathroom with a towel tied around his waist. Dressing in dark pants and a simple white shirt, which he had taken from his wardrobe.
Drake had tried to dry his hair, but because it was a bit long, it would take a long time to dry completely, leaving it slightly damp.
Drake then decided to leave his room. His next destination would be his 'father's' office, which he didn't know where it was.
Walking down the hall, he saw the kitchen. Entering, his hands moved nimbly, taking some snacks that were available, while he asked some employees who were there.
"Do you know where Dante's office is?"
The employees found the question strange, but did not question it.
"Sir Dante's office, it's on the fifth floor, young master" A cook replied with a strange expression, probably due to yesterday's incidents.
Some kitchen staff sent Drake the same looks, seeming to contain some curiosity and apprehension.
Nodding, Drake left while finding his way to the stairs, which led to the upper floor.
While walking, Drake tried to move his left arm, he felt a slight pain when trying to contract the muscles, but for subtle movements, he would be relatively fine.
His high recovery rate was related to the Mana that was constantly being wrapped around his left arm, making him not need external care. If his arm continued to recover at this rate, probably within two days he would be completely recovered.
Arriving on the fifth floor, he saw the entrance to the library. Continuing further down the corridor he saw some doors, but one in specific caught his attention. It was a double door, its height seemed to almost touch the ceiling, it exuded a feeling of oppressive and intimidating pressure.
Drake looking at the door, he thought.
'Found it'
Approaching the door, he was about to knock. When a deep voice erupted from inside the door.
"Come in"
Drake stood still for a few seconds, before his hands moved to the door handle. Pushing it, with a slight creak, the doors opened.
His vision found a luxurious room, with dark brown patterns. There were some shelves with some books, some decorations on the wall, some pictures containing documents, appearing to be some kind of trophy.
There was a small table with some papers on it and behind that table, was Dante.
With a serious expression, Dante was evaluating Drake who entered his room, showing no apparent nervousness.
Drake arrived close to the table, while silently responding to Dante's gaze.
"You seem to have progressed" Dante said without showing emotions.
"Guess I got lucky," Drake responded equally, indifferently.
Drake felt a little pressure talking face to face with Dante. He gave off a natural feeling as if there was a force field around him, it was difficult for interactions to escape or enter.
"Even luck can be considered a skill" Dante said, after a brief pause he continued.
"The reason I called you here was because you defeated your brother, but make no mistake, I don't intend to punish you" Dante continued as his lines sounded calmly.
"In a way, you could say you will be rewarded," his voice hinted at a slight hint of amusement.
Drake's intuition reacted strongly to this amused tone, there was no chance of this being a good thing.
"Please enlighten me on my reward," Drake said with a twisted smile.
Dante showed a rare small smile when he saw Drake's reaction.
"Like I said, it's not a punishment, this situation could become a fortuitous event for you" After a brief pause, Dante continued.
"Our Crimson family values strength above all else. With your recent achievement, I believe the time has come for you to receive some real experience" Dante said.
"What kind of real experience?" Drake furrowed his eyebrows as he asked.
Dante watched Drake's reactions closely, a little surprised, because at times he seemed to be looking into a mirror due to the similarity of his reactions.
"We recently received a request for reinforcement from a nearby village. Apparently a horde of monsters are moving towards the village" Dante's voice soon followed.
"This mission was supposed to be assigned to your brother, but since you incapacitated him, so you will be replacing him. Since you defeated your brother, I believe you will be able to deal with almost all the monsters reported in the horde" Dante expressed a small sly smile, especially at the last part.
Upon hearing Dante's words, Drake had a thoughtful expression, but then nodded. He needed experience, especially about things about the outside world.
"What kind of monsters are these?" Drake asked with a serious expression.
"Just a dirty bunch of goblins" Dante said dismissively and continued.
"Individually they are weak, but it can be problematic in their high numbers" Dante concluded.
After digesting the information, Drake had an indifferent expression as he looked down.
Silence filled the room for a moment, but somehow, Drake felt a comforting air. Raising his eyes and looking towards Dante.
"When should I leave?" Drake's voice sounded.
"You should leave tonight, with a few hours riding, you should arrive by dawn" Dante replied.
Dante observed Drake's reactions, who from the beginning did not show nervousness or fear, slightly surprising him.
"That's all, you can leave" Dante casually transitioned into his distant tone again.
Drake nodded, turning and walking towards the door, when his hands touched the doorknob, a voice sounded from behind him.
"Good luck"
Drake's movement froze, a strange expression appeared on his face, but he quickly composed himself.
"Hm" Nodding, Drake opened the door and walked out.
On his way back to his room, Drake was deep in thought. Soon he would have to leave for his real experience training. Planning the things that had to be done today, he completed his agenda. Train and pack your bags.
Arriving in his room he opened the door. On his bed, there was a common steel sword and a backpack, which Dante probably ordered to be delivered to Drake.
Inside the backpack were some supplies and a few basic pieces of clothing. Picking up the steel sword, he withdrew it from its sheath. A 90cm blade appeared, while on its edge, it reflected the particles of light that entered through the balcony door, which was open.
Placing it back in its sheath, Drake smiled looking at his things. Soon he would be leaving on his first journey in this world, leaving him slightly excited.
"Alright, but before we leave, let's train a little"
Drake spent the entire day at the training camp, which intrigued Vance and all the soldiers there, but over time, everyone got used to his presence and was even inspired by the Crimson boy's efforts.
Soon, when the comforting light of the sun moved away, making the darkness of the night star in all the beauty of the bright moon.
On a balcony of the gray castle stood Dante, who was looking in a certain direction with interest.
In that direction, there was a small, hooded figure walking towards the stable, then coming out pulling a black horse, which was slightly smaller than an adult horse. The figure continued until it reached one of the exit gates in the wall surrounding the castle.
When the figure and the horse began to become blurred on the horizon. A mysterious smile appeared on Dante's face.
"Steel can only be forged if subjected to strong pressure"
His words seemed to be carried by the wind, giving the feeling of having a mysterious meaning.