The journey from the blood-soaked plains of Zone D to the twilight forests of Zone C took two days. It was a quiet, almost unnervingly peaceful trek.
The monsters they encountered were few and far between, pathetic creatures that were no match for the hardened team.
A pack of shadow hounds, a nest of armored beetles; they were little more than walking mana cores, dispatched with a bored efficiency that spoke volumes about how far they had come.
They shared the mana from these meager kills, a process now tinged with a silent, unspoken tension. The others absorbed the energy with a quiet diligence, but for Dante, it was like pouring water into a full cup.
The vast power he had stolen from the orc horde had solidified within him, creating a new, higher plateau. But it had also created a new ceiling.
His summon capacity was locked at six. No matter how much mana he consumed, the vessel of his soul refused to expand further. He had reached a limit. And he hated it.
They made camp in a small clearing, surrounded by ancient, moss-covered trees whose leaves were a deep, bruised purple, casting the world in a perpetual twilight. The fire crackled, a lonely point of warmth in the oppressive gloom.
"Dante, you're looking sad."
Rina's voice, soft and gentle, pulled him from his dark thoughts. She sat down beside him, her expression one of pure, unclouded concern.
She was the only one left who still looked at him without a trace of fear. It was an innocence he found both irritating and, in a strange way, useful.
"Why wouldn't I be?" he replied, not bothering to hide the frustration in his voice. He tossed a twig into the fire and watched it ignite.
"I worked hard all these days. I brought myself to the brink of exhaustion, to the edge of death itself. And for what? To hit a wall. I'm not getting any stronger. My skills aren't improving."
She placed a hand on his shoulder, her touch light and reassuring. "Don't worry," she said with a smile that was far too bright for this dark world. "We have a long journey ahead, and I have full faith in you."
She patted his shoulder gently. "One day, you'll be able to summon a whole empire. I just know it."
"Thanks for the boost," he said, the words tasting like ash. "But the first thing is, I have to survive. And for that, I have to become stronger."
"Without my mana, without my puppets, I'm nothing. I'll fall again, just like I did with Rhonda."
"You don't have to worry," Rina insisted, her belief in him absolute. "You are not alone in this. We are a team, remember? And the strongest one at that."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," he conceded, though the words felt hollow. His team was strong, yes. But they were also a drain.
His gaze drifted over them. Eric and Jin, sparring quietly to keep their senses sharp. Talia, polishing her rapier. Kael, practicing his stolen skills. Masha, studying the map.
Erica… Erica was sitting alone, her back to the group, but he could feel her eyes on him, a constant, burning pressure.
His mind, unbidden, went to a dark, logical place. The problem wasn't just his own limit. It was them.
Every mana core they shared was a resource divided eight ways. Every victory was a diluted triumph.
The Orc Champion puppet, as powerful as it was, was a massive drain, taking up a slot that could potentially be used for something more versatile. The core issue was inefficiency.
'Maybe I should start executing them,' the thought came, cold and clear as a winter morning.
It wasn't born of malice, but of pure, ruthless logic. If he killed one, say Edgar, he would absorb his mana core.
It might be enough to push him past his limit. And it would decrease the share of future rewards by one. Two birds, one stone.
His eyes narrowed as he watched them. They trusted him completely. It would be so easy. A quick blade in the dark. An "accident" during a hunt. Who would question it?
"You're thinking too much, dude. Just relax."
Masha's voice, sharp and sarcastic, cut through his dark calculations. She walked over, holding the artifact map Jin had given her. "We are in Zone C now."
"And according to the exact location the Goddess gave Erica, we are getting dangerously close to the lair of that S-rank serpent she warned us about."
"We should change our direction now to avoid it. Or don't tell me you're actually planning to fight it."
Her words brought him back to the present. The cold logic of murder receded, replaced by the more immediate puzzle of their current situation.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Erica tense up. She had been distant for days, ever since she had woken him.
His interactions with Rina and now Masha were clearly grating on her obsessive possessiveness. Her jealousy was a tool he could use later, but for now, it was just another complication.
"We are not going to fight it," he said, his voice firm, causing Masha to let out a visible sigh of relief. "We can't take on an S-rank monster right now."
"As Erica told us, each zone has exceptions, monsters that surpass the zone's level. This serpent is one of them."
"Thank god you're not acting like a complete maniac today," Masha muttered. "I guess I get to see one more day."
"No, we are not resting today either," Dante said, his voice dropping, recapturing everyone's attention. "We have to get stronger. And we have one week to do it."
"After that, we will come back here. And we will defeat that serpent."
A stunned silence fell over the camp. Every eye was fixed on him, their expressions a mixture of shock, disbelief, and terror.
Even Erica turned to stare, her jealousy forgotten in the face of his insane declaration.
"You're joking," Jin said, his sparring forgotten. "An S-rank? Dante, that's suicide."
"It would be suicide today," Dante corrected him. "But not in a week." He stood up, his presence dominating the small clearing.
"We are going on a hunt. Not for monsters, but for power. This zone is filled with hidden artifacts, tools of immense strength left behind by whatever ancient civilization built this forest."
"We have a full map of their locations. And we know that such rewards are never free. We will have to face whatever monsters, traps, or guardians protect them."
He let his gaze sweep over each of them, his eyes burning with a cold, ambitious fire. "We have less time than you think."
"Other teams are getting stronger too. The race for the Bone Dragon, for the final prize, has already begun. We will not be left behind."
He held out his hand. "We will divide the team into two to cover more ground. We will claim every last artifact in this zone."
"We will become so powerful that an S-rank monster will be nothing more than another stepping stone on our path to victory."
His voice was a hypnotic promise of power, a siren song that drowned out their fear with the allure of strength.
Their hesitation began to fade, replaced by a grim, reluctant determination. They were his tools, and he was winding them up for their purpose.
"Jin," Dante commanded, his hand still outstretched. "Hand over the map to the artifacts."
Jin looked at him, then at the others, and finally, with a resigned nod, he walked over and placed the ancient, worn map into Dante's waiting palm. The hunt was about to begin.