Fragmented memories flashed through his mind.
The first was the moment his arm was cut off.
Then came the desperate attempt to stand—only to be thrown far away, his body crashing into stone.
Inside a cave, his mind had finally begun to stabilize. He tore his own shirt to stop the bleeding, trying to keep the blood from pouring out of the severed stump.
Another memory surfaced: bringing Slay and Ravi to protect him… and then everything going dark. Too much blood had been lost for him to keep consciousness.
The next fragmented memory was even stranger: a blue, luminous insect, shaped like a living root, crawling like a worm.
The creature passed through Slay and Ravi without any difficulty, then began to burrow into his open wound.
The pain was hellish, rippling through his entire body.
Between broken flashes, Dante saw himself instinctively devouring beast cores, driven only by hunger and the need to survive.
The fragmented memories faded away.
"Ahhhhh!"
He woke up in a jolt. His vision was blurry, his entire body aching… and the phantasmal sensation of a missing arm pulsed in his nerves.
A taste of dirt filled his mouth.
"Damn, that hurts…" Dante muttered, trying to look ahead.
Slay and Ravi were sleeping nearby, surrounded by the corpses of small beasts—otters, rodents, and other creatures of the forest.
Peering closely, Dante realized they were both at the peak of 2 stars, which shocked him deeply. Reaching that point should take at least five to six months.
"Slay… Ravi…" he called.
The two beasts instantly woke. Slay climbed up his neck, and Ravi rubbed against him affectionately. After a month together, their bond was undeniably strong.
Up close, there was no mistake: they had truly reached the peak of 2 stars.
They must've hunted nonstop in this place… Dante thought.
But then he looked at his own arm—and a wave of shock hit him.
Where it had been severed, the entire stump was healed… and even stranger, his arm seemed to be reconstructing itself.
What the…?
He channeled his mana to inspect his body—and froze in disbelief.
His mana was far greater. He had reached the peak of 3 stars.
His mana was so dense it was nearly entering the gaseous state.
To reach that stage, one needed around 10,000 threads of mana, enough to begin gasification.
Yesterday, he barely had 100.
Yesterday…
As he ran a hand through his hair—now long enough to fall over his shoulders—it finally made sense.
He had been in this place for months.
What happened in the battle?
Were the hostages saved?
Is Viviane worried sick?
"Shit!" Dante growled, trying to stand—only to fall immediately. His muscles were stiff after so long in the same position.
"Wonderful…" he grumbled with disgust. "I need to return to the village right now."
He grabbed his dimensional pouch, pulled out some healing pills, and swallowed them.
Something strange happened: the medicinal energy entered his body… then vanished. All of it was absorbed and redirected to his arm, healing only a small portion.
Confused, Dante took a cultivation potion—normally diluted—and drank it whole.
The massive influx of mana entered his system… then disappeared just like the pills, flowing straight into his arm and reconstructing more of it.
In his usual, pragmatic way, Dante decided not to think too hard about how absurd this was, and instead consumed every bit of mana he could—potions, pills, everything.
He rebuilt another section of his arm, and his stiff muscles felt as if they were being washed clean by mana, regaining mobility.
Dante stood up slowly. As bizarre as the sensation was, it felt incredible.
To regenerate… it was something every cultivator dreamed of.
First, I need to calm down and get out of this cave, Dante thought, excitement rising as he looked down the dark tunnel. Slay and Ravi moved ahead.
Slay, being a snake, navigated darkness effortlessly—he would serve as Dante's eyes on the way home.
And the one who would return… would be a new Dante.