As soon as Hunter said the words, his mini-map pinged to life with a dozen red markers. Hunter couldn’t prevent the smile that broke out on his face. The presence of those dots would allow him to complete the quest in record time. However, he wanted to get away from the Outpost for a while and train on his own. The encampment was starting to feel stifling, and he didn’t think he would so soon crave the freedom of the open wilderness.

Both of the tieflings in the room were looking at Hunter strangely, so he coughed lightly. “Thank you for the opportunity. I guess I better be going.”

Hank frowned at his grandson. “What do you mean you should be leaving? It’s almost dark. Why don’t you stay with me?”

A grin crossed his features. “I’ll even give you the family discount.”

Hunter gave his grandfather a bewildered glance.

Family discount? What kind of psychopath charges their own family for a place to stay?

“That’s uh…very generous of you, Grandpa Hank, but I’ve gotten used to being on my own in the Rift. I think I should return.”

Hank’s mouth drew into a flat line. Disapproval was writ all over his features.

“Suit yourself, boy. If you end up as ghorum shit, don’t come haunting me in the afterlife.

Hunter smiled as if the old man were telling a joke. He was pleased to see the vein throbbing in his grandfather’s temple.

“I’ll do my best.”

He nodded to both of the men before turning around and drawing up his hood. Hank stayed behind and started whispering to the mayor, but Hunter didn’t care. He wanted to get the fuck out of the Outpost.

Hunter left the building on silent footsteps before ghosting his way through the village. Instead of barging through the people walking along the path, he flitted around them like a breeze. He was rewarded by a series of surprised gasps and snarls at his passing. It felt good to be more powerful than the people who traded their humanity to the demons.

Within minutes, he was outside of the palisade and running down the trail. He wouldn’t make it to the Sanctuary before nightfall, but he still felt it was a safer option than staying in the village. Plus, he hadn’t seen hide nor hair of plumbing in the Outpost. They were probably shitting in wooden buckets and finding streams to bathe in. Nothing could beat the modern conveniences of the Sanctuary, even if the water was ice cold.

The journey to the Sanctuary wasn’t very exciting. Hunter ran afoul of two ghorum, but luckily they hadn’t been together. From the little Hunter had seen of the demons, they were extremely territorial. Even Hunter just passing through their territory was enough to draw their ire. He slew them easily with his new abilities and reveled in the sheer burst damage that his combat style could generate. It wasn’t so long ago, five days to be exact, that he had been running away from just the sight of a ghorum. Now, he was barely taking a half hour to kill each one.

In each exchange, he leveled multiple skills. Since they had all restarted at level one, their progress was increasing far faster than he expected. He wasn’t as miffed about losing his skills since he was basically getting two Path points for the price of one. By the time he arrived at the Sanctuary, he had banked twenty-four Path points. He only needed one more point to complete the Archive Acolyte Path and, hopefully, integrate Battle Meditation and Cleanse into one skill. He knew just how he was going to get that last level.

He paused at the threshold to the Sanctuary and looked at the building appreciatively. It wasn’t much to look at, especially in its damaged state, but it was a far sight better than the Outpost. He would feel sorry for the tieflings if they weren’t all such greedy bastards.

Shaking his head, Hunter pushed open the doors and breathed in the calming scent of the Sanctuary. As soon as the doors were closed behind him, Hunter started peeling off his armor. It was stained and disgusting after his day-long foray in the Rift. He carried his equipment into the barracks and set about washing his underclothing in the shower before setting it by the forge to dry off.

In Hunter’s absence, the forge had undergone a complete transformation. It was no longer composed of white stone. Now each brick was made from an obsidian-looking mineral. The interior of the forge was plated in gold, and the Flames of Avarice merrily burned within. Hunter had no intention of trying to forge anything within its depths, so he ignored the change. As long as the demonic influence didn’t spread to the rest of the Sanctuary, he didn’t particularly care how the forge looked.

Dressed only in his boxers, Hunter padded his way to the showers and cleaned himself in the frigid water. Hunter scrubbed every square inch and idly watched as the black blood that had covered his skin was washed down the drain. He hadn’t thought about it, but he had probably looked like a murderous specter when he appeared before his grandparents and the mayor. It was hard to care what they thought, but he found the situation humorous. They were all squeaky clean and shiny in their golden armor while Hunter looked like the warrior he was becoming. It was a satisfying feeling.

When he was done showering, he returned to his equipment in the barracks and started pulling out everything he would need to maintain his armor from his storage ring. He also pulled out one of the demonic rations and happily snacked on it while his thoughts were a thousand miles away.

Huh, this is surprisingly good, he remarked to himself. Tastes a bit like chocolate cake.

Hunter had been afraid the food would taste like twice-baked ass when he had stolen it from the dead tiefling woman. He had been reluctant to try it, but also thought it a bad idea to eat Apples of Eden in front of the demons. Who knew what would happen if they realized he had unfettered access to the Sanctuary.

Which brings up a good point, Hunter considered as he chewed. Why did none of the demons try to get inside the Sanctuary? Some were loitering outside, but there’s never been a demon within its walls. Some kind of magic spell? Maybe they don’t know about it?

Hunter didn’t think the last option was very likely. He had been informed by the Archives that his benefits within the Sanctuary would be halved due to his demonic exposure. It was probable that full-on demons were barred entirely from entering. That worked out for Hunter. The Sanctuary was a relatively safe base of operations. It provided everything he needed and kept the bad guys away.

He finished his meal, finding it surprising filling, before wiping down his armor and cleaning it the best he could. His patient diligence was rewarded when half an hour later, a notification caught his eye.

Congratulations! You have earned Maintenance Lvl 2!

“And that’s a wrap,” Hunter cheered aloud. It was time for him to complete the Archive Acolyte Path.