Exhausted as I was, I decided to swing by the church and drop my stuff off in my Soul Vault. I’d sold off most of the Grass Hound meat and organs, but not all of it, and I still had a ton of fabrication ingredients and the mace I’d looted. It was weighing me down and I didn’t want to hoof around a bunch of gross body parts all over the city—especially since most of those parts smelled like bad Chinese food left out in the sun. Once inside the Vault, I deposited the fabrication ingredients in the smithy along with the mace, then headed over to my avatar, slowly rotating above the pool of electric blue water with the circling koi.

With a thought, I pulled up my stats, confirming that I had indeed leveled up to Novice Gold rank thanks to my training session in the fairy ring.

>>

Boyd Knight

Race: Vigil Bound

Level: Novice, Gold Rank

Current Essence: 1,876

Next Ascended Rank: 3,200

Attribute Points: +1

Ward Points: +12

Characteristics

Brawn: 18

Verve: 18

Finesse: 15

Arcana: 12

Insight: 14

Vigil Wards

Ward of Justice: Soul Bound Weapons (Boon), Maximum Penetration

Ward of Valor: Diamond Body (Boon), Combat Sense

Ward of Wrath: Arcane Insight (Boon), Kinetic Blast

Ward of Balance: Language of the Heavens (Boon), Sidhe Pact

Ward of Truth: Threads of Fate (Boon)

Expand Ward List

>>

I had a ways to go before I hit level four, but I was making good progress. Still, each one of the Grass Hounds had earned me 63 Essence, which meant I needed to clear out at least twenty more of the murderous little bastards to ascend again. Hopefully Arturo had another fairy ring tucked away for me to raid, though I had a sinking suspicion that my next assignment wouldn’t be quite so easy. But that was a worry for tomorrow. Tonight was all about celebrating my victories, and among the victory spoils were new points to spend.

As much as I wanted a bath, a meal, and a good night’s sleep, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to tweak my stats. Especially since I was already here.

I decided to start with Attribute Points, since there were fewer options to wade through and I only had a single point to use. But I needed to be smart with my choice because unlike the Ward Points, there was no way to reclaim spent Attribute Points. Measure twice and cut once needed to be my motto here. The inner geek in me wanted to spend my gains on Arcana or Insight. Kinetic Blast was an amazing skill—and I was sure the other mystic abilities would be just as useful—but the biggest drawback was how infrequently I could cast thanks to my low Arcana Pool. Beefing up Arcana and Insight would help significantly with that.

But after a moment of consideration, I decided against it.

Thing was, I could buy additional Stat Points so long as I had the Essence to spend. It cost a metric butt ton of Essence to push a stat from 18 to 19—1,000 Essence total—whereas it cost almost nothing to increase a stat from 12 to 13. A measly 400 Essence. The Law of Diminishing Returns was at play here. The most logical course of action was to drop the earned Point into Brawn or Verve, since those traits were the most costly to advance, and use raw Essence to raise Arcana and Insight.

Between Brawn and Verve, Brawn was the obvious choice. I liked lifting heavy things and I liked hitting hard. Sure, Verve would keep me alive for longer, but I could always compensate with a good set of plate armor. As far as I knew, there was no armor that could make me physically stronger. I added the earned stat point into Brawn and endured the hellish torment as my muscles shifted and shivered beneath my skin. This time the sensation didn’t boot me from the Vault, which was a positive step in the right direction, though it still hurt worse than getting kicked in the junk by an angry Muay Thai fighter.

My Arcana and Insight were pitifully low and I would need to significantly raise both if I wanted any shot at being a hard-charging spell-slinger—and I definitively wanted that. My K-Bar was functional, and my magical Colt was hell on wheels against smaller foes, but a good Marine knew that you used every weapon in the arsenal and I had a feeling that magic was the closest equivalent to heavy artillery that I could get my hands on. I had currently had 1,876 Essence, and it would cost me 900 Essence to increase my Arcana score from 12 to 14 and another 600 Essence to bump Insight up to 15.

Fifteen hundred Essence was a big commitment that would set me back significantly on my quest to ascend to the Disciple ranks. That many points was more than all the Essence I’d siphoned off the Crave Ghouls combined. Without enough Essence I couldn’t advance, and if I didn’t advance, I wouldn’t unlock any more Ward Points, which would make me vulnerable in the long run. This whole thing was a precarious gambling act, but thanks to my Threads of Fate Boon, I could afford to gamble a little. Presumably other Vigils needed to level as fast as possible to gain as many Wards as possible in their specialization. I, on the other hand, could afford to take it a little slower because I could just swap Wards at need, assuming I could get back to an altar once a day.

This was the right choice. I knew it. As I made my choices, a new prompt appeared—one I hadn’t seen before:

You must Sacrifice [1,500] Essence to increase Arcana to 14 and Insight to 15. Proceed with Soul Sacrifice? Yes/No

It wasn’t gonna be fun, but good things rarely were. I gritted my teeth, ready to get metaphysically shanked in the kidney, and accepted.

This time, it wasn’t pain that washed over me so much as a wave of frigid ice that filled my stomach and spread through my limbs like frostbite. I dropped to the deck and just lay on the floor shivering, teeth chattering, thinking I was dying for a good ten minutes. But eventually the horrific feeling passed, leaving a hollow pit in the middle of my stomach as though I hadn’t had a meal in a week or two. There was no kitchen in the Vault, although Arturo had mentioned that the Vault would change with me over time—maybe that was something I’d be able to fix down the road.

For now, though, I’d just have to endure the gnawing pain in my center. Unless…

I pulled out one of the Glamor Affinity Scales I’d looted from the Grass Hounds and clutched it in my sweaty and shaking palm. Whereas the Hunger Affinity Scales shimmered with angry crimson light, this one danced with the iridescent colors of a dragonfly’s wing. I drew the power downward, into my body, and cycled it up into my chest. The room swam and the emptiness inside fade while my mind sharpened to the keen edge of a surgeon’s scalpel. The mental exhaustion vanished and the world around me was rendered in perfect, high-def clarity.

Colors were more vibrant. Sounds, crystal clear. I traced my fingertips along the rough fabric of my trousers—the sensation was overwhelming. The stink wafting off me was potent enough to make me physically gag. Oh yeah, I was in desperate need of a bath, but I wasn’t quite ready to call it quits yet. I still had ten Ward Points to spend. In theory, I could reset all my Ward Points and pick up a whole new set of skills, but I was too tired for that. Plus, I liked all the skills I currently had at my disposal—magical force powers and what amounted to Spidey Sense were pretty damned handy.

What I didn’t like was hauling around giant, reeking bags of meat all over the countryside. And, since it seemed like harvesting monster parts was going to play a big role in my future, I decided to do something to help. I already had just the ability in mind. I headed over to the library, pulled free my Grimoire of Virtues, and quickly thumbed through the pages until I found what I was looking for tucked away in the Balance Ward, listed under Fae Magics.

Fae Tether

The Vigil is a warrior of many lands and none. Traveling abroad can take a toll, and altars are not always so easy to come by. With Fae Tether, the Vigil reinforces their bond to their Soul Vault and can send items and relics into the Soul Vault even at great distance and without access to an altar through use of Fae spatial magics. All items so sent will manifest inside the Soul Vault’s Storage Chamber. Items may only be sent to the Vault, however, and may not be summoned forth.

Recommended Attributes: Arcana, 14; Insight, 15

I had both of the recommended Attributes and at only four Ward Points I couldn’t help myself. Goodbye hauling loads of gory bullshit, hello giant-ass bag of holding.

That left me with eight Ward Points left to dole out and though I probably should’ve picked up a new magical spell, like Unbound Blaze from the Path of Violence, or a new weapons skill, like Overcharge from the Justice Ward, I was more interested in convenience at the moment, which is why I stopped on the Armor Evocation Ability, listed in the Warforged Mastery subsection of the Justice Ward. Fae Tether was the closest thing I could get to a bag of holding, but it only worked one way, which was annoying as hell.

Armor Evocation seemed like a way to get around that. Kind of.

Armor Evocation

Hunting monsters is tireless, thankless, dangerous work, and having the right gear for the right situation is an essential ability for any Vigil. Some creatures hit hard—requiring the protection of heavy plate—while others are fast and nimble, requiring lighter gear to keep up. Similar to the Soul Bound Weapon Skill, Arcane Evocation allows a Vigil to instantly swap between up to four designated Armor Sets at will, even when away from the Soul Vault.

Add any Armor Set—complete with rings, amulets, potions, or additional accessories—to one of the four Armor Display Statues located within the Soul Vault. Trigger Arcane Evocation to call forth a Set, willing the selected items to appear upon the Vigil no matter the distance. Any gear currently in use by the Vigil will automatically return to the Vault, where mystic energies will refresh and restore the equipment for future use.

Recommended Attributes: Verve, 16; Brawn, 16; Arcana, 12

For six points I would be able to swap gear the same way I could call and dismiss my weapons, and if I was reading the description right, Arcane Evocation would even scrub the nasty bloodstains out of my tighty-whities. How could I possibly pass on that? Now I just needed to try it out to see how it worked.

I unlocked the spell and dipped out of the Soul Vault, reappearing in the empty chapel.

I was still wearing the nasty gore-spattered gear Arturo had given me earlier in the morning, but I had the Crude Leather Armor I’d picked up from the Crave Ghouls on a second mannequin in the statuary room. An image of the black leather formed in my mind, and I sent my intention into the world accompanied by a surge of power. My blue Arcana gauge plunged by half as swirling silver mist enveloped me, wrapping around my arms and legs, slithering over my chest and back. As the magical mist dissipated, my grubby armor was gone, whisked away, and I found myself standing bare-assed in a church, with only leather armor to cover my torso.

Winding up with no pants was fast becoming a habit—one I was in no way comfortable with. A gentle breeze caressed my unmentionables and sent goosebumps sprinting along my arms and legs.

Check. When the prompt said Armor Set, it really meant everything on the mannequin—nothing more and nothing less. Honestly, I was just glad this had happened in a dark church, all by my lonesome, and not in the middle of a battle against some Lovecraftian horror show. I’d already fought a bunch of disgusting monsters with my rod and tackle dangling for all to see and I had no intention of going through that again. With my newly won coin, I’d need to pick up some extra pants, shirts, and boots to go beneath whatever other armor I scored.

As for the leather armor itself, it was still shoddy garbage, but it was spotless shoddy garbage. I activated Armor Evocation again, wrapping myself in mist once more, and the gear I’d been wearing all day reappeared on my body. It was clean enough to pass a Field Day room inspection from a grumpy company CO. Color me impressed. I lifted one arm and took a quick whiff of my armpit. I winced. The magical dry-cleaning properties of the spell extended to the armor only, it seemed. You win some, you lose some. Looked like I’d have to clean myself up the old-fashion way.

It was high time for that meal and bath.