Eventually, the party was able to get to the top of the plateau in less than ten minutes. However, they were now tired and gasping for breath. 

"Hah… it's like the days of stamina training I did were all useless…" Dignitas groaned, struggling to breath.

"I believe it is due to the air getting thinner, Leader. Such a tall height means a lack of oxygen." 

"Since when were you this knowledgeable, Rokas?" Dignitas questioned, still gasping for breaths.

"I did some reading while we were stuck in our dorms. I couldn't get myself to train, so I used my time in order to learn. Did you train, Leader?"

"Me? Nah. Haven't felt like it. Maybe once school starts, I'll start again. But for now, I just want to take it easy."

"Indeed. Relaxation is good for the mind as well as the body."

Just as it seemed like Dignitas would pass out from the lack of air, they finally arrived. 

The area spread out in front of the party. The steep, rocky wall they had been staring at finally disappeared, revealing a flat, open area. 

Dignitas could already see hundreds of people crowded around what seemed to be a giant tombstone.

"Okay, we're here. Give me a minute, I need to catch my breath. You guys can go on ahead." 

"Very well, Leader. We will save a spot for you." 

'Spot? What spot? There are no chairs around.' Dignitas thought. 

After two entire minutes of focusing on his breathing, Dignitas finally steadied himself. He slowly learned to get used to the lack of oxygen. 

"Shoot, they're about to start. I better head there now." 

The Mountain God's tombstone had large scratch marks on the surface. Dignitas assumed it was handwriting, but he couldn't read it. The tombstone itself was over fifteen meters tall, and it towered over everybody present.

In front of the tombstone, there was a small wooden platform. To the side of it, stairs. 

The sounds of crying and weeping could be heard all around. It was understandable, humanity had lost a great hero. Friends and family alike wailed in sadness. 

"That's probably where people who'll speak up will go. Hmm, I should look for my party."

It wasn't long before Dignitas found his teammates standing side by side outside of the crowd of people. 

"Hey guys. What's the news?"

"Professor Shib told me the funeral is about to start. We should get in line, Leader."

"Alright. Everybody stick together."

After the next few minutes, everybody lined up as well. But then, the entire area went silent. No one spoke a single word. 

Then, a person walked onto the platform. It was a man about six feet tall. He had long blonde hair tied up in a ponytail, and wore a white jacket, alongside leather pants. 

"This must be the head of the Association."

William Meister, the founder of the Hero Association, and dubbed the "Hero of Light."

He was said to be the strongest hero only behind Cendria Macador. With his powers of light, he could shine the entire planet in a bright light if he wished to. 

He wielded light as a weapon and used it to fulfill his missions. And slowly, this man began to speak. 

However, Dignitas could not hear any of his words. 

Rather, he could, but there was something stopping him from focusing on them. 

"This murderous aura… ah, she's here, isn't she…" Dignitas turned his head around. 

And unfortunately for him, he had locked eyes with the one person who hated him the most at the moment. 

Lorelai Seraph was positioned quite a few rows behind him, but Dignitas could feel her killing intent as if she was right beside him.

"She still hates me… damn, maybe I should've explained myself. But my relationship with her isn't a top priority, so I'll let her do what she wants."

"Still… it's impossible to listen to the speech with her eyes digging into me like that."

"Oh well, nothing I can do besides suck it up."

And so, Dignitas sat through the entire speech with a nervous look on his face. The whole time, he could feel Lorelai staring at him, her gaze like knives poking at his torso. 

"Hey, Leader. Everything okay?"

Seeing Dignitas looking uneasy, Rokas placed his hand on his shoulder. 

"I'm good. I wonder how long it'll be until the speech ends though…"

"And so… I would like to end this speech by thanking Anthony Wywear, the Mountain God, for his service to the Association. He was a great colleague and an even greater hero. He will surely be missed."

And as if on cue, William's speech ended. Turning around, he bowed gently to the towering tombstone behind him, before leaving the platform.

"Damn. He really is gone, huh."

Dignitas never knew the person much, even as an author. He never bothered to dive too deeply into his story. 

But he still held a certain degree of respect for the guy. After taking a short bow to the tombstone, he turned to his teammates,

"Alright, if everyone's done saying their prayers, should we look for a place to eat?" 

Dignitas looked around and saw that Wang Jin had already left them. It wasn't a problem, since he had informed him about his plans with Donna. 

"No objections here, Leader."

"I'm feeling hungry too, sir Dignitas. We should go now. Where would you like to eat, sister?" Percivale turned to Alter. 

"Hmph. Anywhere's fine. I'm not a picky eater."

"In that case, let's first head back to the school district, and then we'll look for a suitable place to eat."

It seemed everyone was on board with the plan. 

Taking one last look at the tombstone and the people surrounding it, Dignitas began walking to the path leading below. 

The journey downwards would be easier this time. Without the force of gravity pulling them to the earth, but rather assisting them, Dignitas doubted that he would get tired. 

And he was right. The journey was cut almost in half. By the time the party reached the bottom, he hadn't even broke a sweat. 

"Alright. I've called the limo, so let's just wait till it gets her—"

"And where do you think you're going?! You're not getting away from me this time!" 

*ftwoop*

The sound of an arrow being fired entered Dignitas' ears. His senses reacted quickly, and his hand reached for Dainsleif. 

In one swift motion, he bent his body backward and took a single step back. 

"Hooh… seems I haven't lost my touch. Not that I had any in the first place."

____

|Death's Vision| | C - |

 

Will occasionally show the targeted opponent/s next move. The closer they are to death, the more likely their moves are to be true. 

Thanks to repeated usage of the skill, the user has gained a slight understanding of its structure. Can be activated without chanting.

____

In the days that passed, Dignitas' stats, alongside his skills, had grown tremendously. It wasn't enough to break through to the next rank, but his constant usage of Death's Vision had pushed his mind to be able to use the skill without chanting it. 

It wasn't a great power increase by any means, but the ability to use the skill without having to move his lips even once would help him in the long run.

Especially when he reached the higher ranks, where battles were said to look like invisible flashes of light clashing against each other by lower ranks. 

But that day wouldn't come anytime soon. 

His display of power had shocked even Lorelai to silence. And as such he judged that he had no need for Dainsleif. He returned the blade back to its sheath slowly. 

Then, he took a deep breath, as if he needed the calmness before talking to the person in front of him. 

"Hello, Lorelai." Dignitas replied, smiling. 

"Don't "hello, Lorelai," me! You still have to pay for what you said that day!" Lorelai took out another arrow from the quiver behind her and loaded it on her bow.

"Now, calm down. It was an honest mista– yeah, I probably shouldn't. I'm making this worse by talking." 

"Leader, I remember this girl. Do you know her?" Rokas stood in front of Dignitas and held his shield. 

"I… guess I do?"

"You bastard, hiding behind your teammate like a coward!" Lorelai fired another arrow, which Rokas easily blocked. 

"Oh, dear. I don't want to foul her mood."

Lorelai was known for being moody. One second she'd be calm and the next she'd be… like this. 

"Now who is this, daring to make our princess cry? It looks like I need to teach you some manners." 

From behind Lorelai, a gruff voice spoke out. A man in full steel armor twice the size of Rokas walked forward. His sheer weight created slight tremors in the ground with every step he took. 

"Ah, Uncle Wesker! Please don't worry. I can handle this."

"Can you, now? It doesn't seem fair to have two against one. Let your good uncle be your shield."

The man who Lorelai had called Wesker had white hair, the same shade of the elderly. His helmet was missing, allowing everybody to see his puffy beard. 

Then out of nowhere, a mace that looked like a pillar materialized in his hand. 

"Now then. Who wants to try me?" 

"Are we seriously doing this? This is a funeral site, guys. No fighting, pleas–"

"Shut up, Dignitas. We're taking this fight." Alter interrupted him and started to release particles of Chaos Magic. 

"Hah! Come on, little girl! Can your puny magic hope to penetrate my iron defense?"

"Gah, are they seriously going to fight?" 

Tensions were high. Alter had balls of Chaos Magic floating above her palms, and they looked like they were about to burst at any time. 

"What is this disturbance? Didn't I tell you not to enter fights without letting me join, old man?" 

"Another one, seriously?" Dignitas groaned. 

A man with glasses, and blonde hair styled in a bowl cut appeared in Wesker's shadow. He wore a dark leather jacket with the sleeves cut out, revealing his burly arms. 

He too looked ready to fight. He entered into a stance, already raring to go.

"I don't think this guy even knows what he's fighting for, the hell." 

At this point, even Dignitas was left stumped. He knew the people who had appeared were members of John's party, but he didn't think that they'd pick a fight simply because Lorelai was in a bad mood. 

"I'll help you, sister! Let's take them out." 

"Even you, Percivale?" 

The two groups stared each other down. Their eyes locked, refusing to look away. 

And just as it seemed like they really would fight, another person appeared. This one, however, was someone Dignitas knew really well. 

"Alright, calm down now. Why are we in our battle form?" 

"John, finally! Help us teach these guys a lesson!" Makarov Zugnav, the blonde man called out. 

However, John wasn't alone. Behind him, a short, petite girl followed suit. 

Dignitas could recognize her as well. There was only one girl in John's party who had white hair. 

The sole daughter and heir of the Mortem family, Curie Mortem. 

"Weird. I didn't expect her to be this timid." Dignitas thought. 

Curie held onto the back of John's shirt like a child holding onto its mother. She shrunk behind his back, as if hiding from everybody.

"Hmm? What did they do?" 

"I dunno. Wesker seemed ready to fight when I got here."

"They made our princess cry, John! That alone deserves punishment." 

"...right. Everyone lower your weapons, please. I happen to know them. And I tell you, they're the kindest people you'll ever meet."

'Not entirely true, but I'll take anything, as long as it gets me out of this situation, John.' Dignitas thought. 

As John was the leader of the party, the others had no choice but to obey, even Lorelai. 

Seeing that they had lowered their weapons, Dignitas urged his team to do the same. 

John approached Dignitas, Curie still following in suit.

"Dignitas, my friend. How have you been?" John shook Dignitas' hand in greeting.

"Great. How about you? Have you recovered from the last battle?"

"I'm pretty much in tip-top shape! I still haven't thanked you for what you did back then. Is there anything you want in particular? Curie here can get you any item as long as it isn't too expensive."

"That's very much appreciated, but no thank you."

"Well, I have to reward you with something. I don't want to leave a debt unpaid." 

"In that case, how about keeping it as a favor? If I ever need your assistance, I'll use it."

"Hmm… sure! Then, here." 

Digging into his pockets, John took out a small red button. 

"Do you perhaps have a personal belonging that you keep with you all the time?"

"Uh, I guess, this." Dignitas removed Dainsleif from his waist, sheath included. 

"Then, here. Please place it anywhere on the sword." He threw the button, which Dignitas caught. 

"Whenever you need my help, press the button. I will be notified, and will make sure to come to your assistance as soon as I can." 

"That's good to hear. That'll be all, then." 

"I'm glad. In that case, we will head on first. I hope to see you in school, Dignitas."

"Me too. Don't slack off on your training now. Lest you want me to overtake you." 

"Haha. I won't let that happen."

And so, John's party began to leave, much to the members' dismay. 

Lorelai was the last to leave. She took one last look at Dignitas. He could see her eyes scream the words, "this isn't over!" 

"Scary. I need to make sure to mend our relationship soon. I still like her, after all."

"What did you say, Leader?" Rokas said, thinking he heard something. 

"Nothing. Now then, how about we head out as well? All that talking made me hungry."