Hunter froze in place at the strange entity pressing in on his mind. He had never met the Sentinel, but he felt like he had known her his entire life in that instance. There was a calming and pleasant aura to the Sentinel’s thoughts that smoothed the rough edges of his consciousness. He sensed that at that moment, she was giving him a gift. She asked for nothing in return, merely supporting him with the little remaining strength she possessed. Her voice was a whisper in his mind.

You have completed my quests. You deserve a reward.

Like a floodgate had been lifted, a flood of notifications hit Hunter’s view.

Congratulations! You have received the Blessing of Charity. You have earned +10 Faith.

Congratulations! For reaching level 10 in fire resistance, you have earned the Path: Fire Resistance I (0/10).

Congratulations! For undergoing prolonged torture to level your resistances, you have been granted the Path: Masochist (0/25).

Congratulations! For defeating more than ten opponents in a series of duels, you have earned the Path: Duelist (0/25).

Congratulations! You have absorbed the soul gem of a Lesser Greed Tiefling: Lvl 25. You have earned 383 experience and +5 attribute points from the soul’s highest attributes!

ERROR… You do not possess a Class and, therefore, cannot earn any experience. Please find the nearest Rift Sentinel and receive your Class.

…

Congratulations! You have absorbed 24 soul gems of a Lesser Greed Tiefling: Lvl 25. You have earned 9192 experience and +120 attribute points from the souls’ highest attributes!

ERROR… You do not possess a Class and, therefore, cannot earn any experience. Please find the nearest Rift Sentinel and receive your Class.

Congratulations! You have unlocked the following Subsidiary Skills:

-Claw Grasp

-Talon Punch

-Talon Kick

-Wind Walk

-Wing Toss

Subsidiary Skills do not level, but using them will cause Kata of the Black Wind to develop faster. Higher levels of Kata of the Black Wind will provide qualitative changes to its Subsidiary Skills.

Congratulations! You have earned Gale Rush Lvl 10!

Congratulations! You have earned Temperst Strikes Lvl 10!

Congratulations! You have earned Black Tornado Lvl 8!

Congratulations! You have earned Eye of the Hurricane Lvl 10!

Congratulations! You have earned Wind Lance Lvl 10!

Congratulations! You have earned Black Wind Evasion Lvl 10!

Congratulations! You have earned Kata of the Black Wind Lvl 15!

Congratulations! You have earned Black Wind Augmentation Lvl 10!

Congratulations! You have earned Breath of the Black Wind Lvl 7!

Congratulations! For reaching Gale Rush Lvl 10, you have earned the Path: Gale Rush (0/25).

Congratulations! For reaching Tempest Strikes Lvl 10, you have earned the Path: Tempest Strikes (0/25).

Congratulations! For reaching Eye of the Hurricane Lvl 10, you have earned the Path: Eye of the Hurricane (0/25).

Congratulations! For reaching Wind Lance Lvl 10, you have earned the Path: Wind Lance (0/25).

Congratulations! For reaching Black Wind Evasion Lvl 10, you have earned the Path: Black Wind Evasion (0/50).

Congratulations! For reaching Black Wind Augmentation Lvl 10, you have earned the Path: Black Wind Augmentation (0/50).

Hunter almost choked at all of the notifications that took up his field of view. He quickly dismissed them even if he wanted to dive into each of the notifications and figure out how they affected his stat sheet. It was comforting to be able to see the Archive messages once again. He had the sneaking suspicion that his elevated Infernal Faith had stripped away his ability to use the system. Now that the Sentinel had rewarded him with Faith of her own, the two seemed to cancel each other out and bring him to a measure of balance.

For the first time since the Revelation had ascended upon his world, Hunter had two competing influences on his mind. Having both forms of Faith didn’t mean he was truly neutral again. He still felt influence the influence of greed. Being gifted power made him want to receive more. However, the impulse was combatted by the desire to use his gifts to help the Rift Sentinel. Hunter’s Willpower was sitting at around forty. He could resist both impulses, but it wasn’t easy. It was as if his mind and soul were at war with himself.

It made more sense that the Archive Paths gifted its adherents methods of cleansing themselves of influence. If Hunter allowed this dual Faith situation to linger, he could imagine that it would permanently damage his mental health. Unfortunately, he wasn’t sure if the Rift Keeper could sense the changes to his stat sheet, so he wanted to maintain the illusion of being a compliant greed-influenced minion. His plan lasted about as long as it took for the Keeper to notice his presence.

The dragonoid demon noticed Hunter when the Sentinel looked in the teenager’s direction. Baleful green eyes fasted upon Hunter’s own, and a snarl spread across the Keepers face. Out of reflex, Hunter analyzed the demon with Eye of the Hurricane.

Rift Keeper (Greed): Lvl 35

Hunter noticed that the Fiend was the first creature that didn’t have a ‘lesser’ or ‘minor’ modifier to its name. Hunter intuited that the lack of a modifier meant it was in an entirely different class than the other demons that he had faced. He took a glance at the Sentinel and found a similar title.

Rift Sentinel (Charity): Lvl 35

“This is rich,” a sibilant voice echoed through the throne room.

Hunter belatedly realized that the Keeper’s words were meant for him before the demon turned back to the Sentinel and started laughing. There was an edge of madness to its amusement.

“Your Archivist couldn’t send any warriors from the Host to save you, so he sent a boy instead.”

The angel smiled beatifically at the Keeper and responded with a voice like music.

“The Rift hasn’t been opened up to the world, and yet the human in front of you has already amassed enough strength to defeat the lesser denizens of your realm. He completed my quests when your tieflings couldn’t manage the task. There is more to these humans than meets the eye.”

The demon snarled and summoned a green whip of fire. It snaked from his hand and writhed in his grasp like a living thing. The Keeper arched his arm and cracked the whip across the angel’s face. A gash was split across her face, and molten silver blood poured from the wound. Despite the grievous wound, the Angel still had a placid smile on her face. Hunter watched in awe as the laceration began to heal in front of his eyes.

“You can see as well as I do, bitch, that he’s wearing a Fragment of the Horde on his face. Any threat the boy posed was neutralized as soon as he put it on.”

The fiend sneered before using the whip to beat the angel again.

“How far you Virtues have fallen. I can see the desperation in your actions, even if it isn’t on your face. Your Archivist wasted his power to deliver a worthless slave to me. It’s satisfying that your tool will become my pawn. Greed will have the first Lord of Hell on the playing field, and it’s due to your own actions.”

The Keeper shot Hunter a look filled with venomous hate.

“There is nothing more to these humans than an abundance of Pride, Envy, and Greed. These humans are perfectly suited for our Sin. This world will fall to the Horde more easily than the other five we’ve claimed for our own.”

The demon gestured for Hunter to come closer, and the teenager complied. He didn’t have a choice. It was like his body had a mind of its own. He felt the familiar pull of avarice on his soul. He tried to resist the order. Each step became a dragging slide. Soon, his pace picked up, and he was within striking range of the demon.

The Keeper was at least three feet taller than Hunter, and he towered over the teenager like a specter of death. The Keeper’s eyes bored into the young warrior, and it sneered.

“You’re still too weak, slave. I’m sending a pilfer with you to kill the wretched tieflings in the Outpost. You still haven’t earned a class, and you can’t level until then. As it stands, your body will disintegrate when the Lord of Hell tried to enter. That is unacceptable.”

The angel interrupted the Keeper’s tirade.

“Why don’t you allow the Lord to manifest in your own body?”

Without even looking at the Sentinel, the demon used his whip to cut her face.

“Because I’m not fucking stupid, bitch. Don’t speak unless you’re being spoken to.”

The Keeper acted like he hadn’t been interrupted as he continued giving orders to Hunter. Hunter kept the panic off of his face. The demon could clearly see his lack of level. Hunter was reminded that when both factions viewed his mask simultaneously, its benefits would be nullified. Still, the Keeper didn’t seem to know about Hunter’s bloodline or its abilities. It was the only surprise he had left. He hoped that he could leave, consume his remaining Faith, beat down a pilfer, and then come back to save the Sentinel.

It might even be worth it to slay the remaining tieflings and take their souls. The only advantage he had was his higher than normal attributes. Absorbing the souls of the tieflings would help boost his stats to an even higher degree. It was the only winning condition he had left. The Sentinel looked strong enough to resist the Keeper, but she had been injured and captured.

Hopefully, whatever assistance he could provide would tip the balance in the Host’s favor. The alternative was to become a demonic sock puppet for a Lord of Hell. When his mind had been clouded by demonic influence, he had been arrogant enough to think he could escape his fate. Now that the influx of heavenly Faith had mitigated his cloudy judgment, he realized that helping the Host was his only option.

“Do you have any questions, slave?”

Hunter wasn’t willing to give the game up, so he played his part dutifully.

“No, Master,” Hunter said while bowing lowly. He sneaked a look at the angel and saw the surreptitious wink she sent his way.

The fiend crowed in pleasure before bragging to the Sentinel.

“See? The human has no will to disobey. In another day or so, the ritual will begin, and I can sacrifice your soul to deepen the Rift into a Fracture. A Lord of Hell will walk this plane far sooner than the Host could ever predict. The Host doesn’t have the necessary forces to stop us.”

The demon’s triumphant laugh was grating on Hunter’s soul, but Hunter remained in a bowed position. When the demon finished, it delivered his last orders.

“Now go, slave. Kill all the tieflings and earn your class.”

Hunter rose from his bow and backed away from the pair. As he was leaving the throne room, the angel touched his mind once more.

No amount of killing will grant you a class. The requirement to receive a class from me was hardcoded by the Archivist. Grow in power, get higher attributes, and return. You’ll need more Willpower to disrupt the ritual. If you’re successful in helping me prevent an incursion onto your planet, you’ll be richly rewarded by the Host.

Hunter didn’t display an outward sign that the angel was communicating with him. It was nice to have a plan.

When Hunter exited the throne room, the pilfer was already waiting for him.

“Well, Vessel. It seems like there’s work to be done.”

Hunter just nodded to the grotesque monster. The short interaction had been draining in more ways than one. He had learned more about the war and how the system worked. The implications of the information that had been revealed would take time for Hunter to digest. He didn’t have time for that, though. He had tieflings to slay.