"Where am I?"
The last thing Dante remembered was the grand celebration in Aetheria, the world where he and the other heroes had waged war against the demon horde for years.
Victory had been sweet—feasts, flowing barrels of booze, and the overwhelming relief of a war finally won.
And now?
Now, he was standing alone in the middle of an unfamiliar forest.
The air was thick with magic, humming with an energy he hadn't felt before. Streams of crystal-clear water wove through the land, reflecting the glow of the sky like liquid glass.
The trees around him weren't the towering behemoths of a typical enchanted forest, but they carried an unnatural vibrance—leaves shifting in shades of crimson, violet, and gold, as if permanently caught in the moment of autumn's peak.
Dante exhaled. The silence was familiar. Too familiar.
As always, the heroes had been separated upon arrival. This was standard procedure—every time they got thrown into a new world, they landed scattered across the land, only to reunite after some ridiculous struggle.
Normally, there was at least some warning before the gods yanked them into a new realm.
This time? Nothing. No divine message. No cryptic prophecy. Just an instant shift from celebration to exile.
"At the very least, I should've eaten more steak before getting thrown into another damn world . . ." he muttered, rubbing his temples.
Resigned to his fate, Dante pulled up his system screen, expecting the usual location data. Instead, something unexpected flashed before his eyes.
[CONGRATULATIONS! Your class has leveled up!]
[Expert Fusionist >> Master Fusionist]
His eyes narrowed. That was . . . new.
[You can now fuse SSS+ rank items and equipment!]
[Library expanded!]
[Increased understanding of materials!]
[Increased understanding of items!]
[Increased understanding of beasts!]
[Spirit Energy capacity increased: 100,000 >> 1,000,000!]
[UNLIMITED FUSION (subject to Spirit Energy)]
[You can now fuse components, atoms—even DNA—to create unique items, powerful equipment, extraordinary creatures, and more . . . ]
Dante blinked. Then blinked again.
". . . Wait. What?"
The sheer magnitude of the upgrade hit him like a war hammer to the skull.
Before, his fusion ability was capped—he could only craft a single Legendary-tier equipment set per week before his SE (Spirit Energy) ran dry. If he pushed it, maybe five Epic-tier sets.
But now, with a leap to 1,000,000 SE? That meant he could potentially forge Legendary sets—or even touch this mysterious SSS+ items that he'd never seen or heard before.
His mind raced with possibilities. What even classified as an SSS+ rank item? How did it compare to a Legendary-tier items that could even slay gods?
But more than that—
His eyes drifted to the last part of the notification.
Fusion of atoms . . . DNA . . . different components . . .
That essentially meant no limits to what he could combine.
Did that mean . . . he could fuse a turnip and a rabbit now? Was that even possible?
Dante stroked his chin, his expression serious like he was really considering the possibility just to know.
"I'm definitely trying that later."
Smirking to himself, he dismissed the screen and turned his attention back to his surroundings.
First things first—he needed to figure out where the hell he was.