The late morning disturbed DeSean. The promising sunlight when he’d first left his egg had been attractive at first, but he soon found it annoying. It didn’t weaken him directly, but it did disrupt his ability to hear the song of darkness. If he had to use his dark elemental magic, he’d be pulling from muted shadows under the tree canopy, or from his own shadow.

Prior to the transformation, he wouldn’t think much of it. Just having the power to summon shadow strings was cool enough. But he was slightly different now. More aware of himself and the path he’d taken. Of course, there was much to discover. But there was an instinctual sense that came built-in with the Path, too.

He had to excuse himself from the group to spend some time alone with Lylothia. It was no coincidence that he ambled where the forest canopy was thickest, and the shadows were the darkest. It was cool and damp here. It was very favorable for him; the song of darkness was still faint, but not as weak as before.

“You move differently,” Lylothia said. “You are becoming what your path intended you to become.”

“Is that preferable?” DeSean asked.

“It is, as long as you acknowledge the strengths and weaknesses of your path,” Lylothia said. “Before I speak further, have you seen into the System Notifications from your rebirth?”

“I have,” DeSean said, stroking his fingers over pieces of shade. With a slight hum, and a flicker of purple iridescence escaping his eyes, the forest shadows wriggled and danced to his touch. “But I’ll give them a more thorough look and retell them to you.”

You’ve passed the Hell Marked Main Path Selection Trial and gained a [Noble Titled] Main Path.

[Noble Titled]—Main Paths with noble origins have the subtle effect of pushing you into the forefront of affairs where leadership and power are a must. Regardless of your origins, you are among a higher class now, and this status is recognized by the System regardless of your place among the forces of the Hells or Heavens. Nobles have access to secluded markets, venues, and networks. They are also the first who could own System-earned properties. You’ve also been given +10 Strength, +10 Agility, +10 Endurance, +10 Focus, and +10 Attunement.

“Did you have any royal lineage prior?” Lylothia asked.

“Nope. I was nothing special other than a good warfighter.”

“Congratulations, then. You are someone of great worth now.”

You’ve obtained [First Hell Marked Pathtaker of the 13th Revelation Cycle] on your Records.

[First Hell Marked Pathtaker of the 13th Revelation Cycle]—You are the pioneer among your entire world, the first to earn the affection of a Hell Princess and surpass a trial that would’ve destroyed weaker Marked. To be the first requires bravery beyond measure and lots of good fortune. You will now be aware of all Hell Marked that come to be in your world and keep track of all Marked that holds some importance to you. You’ve also been given +5 Strength, +5 Agility, +5 Endurance, +5 Focus, +5 Attunement, and +25 Free Stats. Additionally, [13th Revelation Pathtaker] has been added to your Records.

“My Od Level is going to be ridiculous,” DeSean said.

“We haven’t even touched on your Main Path, yet,” Lylothia giggled.

“We’re getting there after this one.”

You’ve obtained [13th Revelation Pathtaker] on your Records.

[13th Revelation Pathtaker]—You’ve acquired enough Od to evolve and follow the path of your choosing. While the Main Path enables you to fill roles small and large, the System provides all Pathtakers benefits that leverage the powerful nature of Od. You are now able to store System-approved items in a pocket dimension (up to 72 items for Hell Marked Pathtakers) reachable through your Status Tablet. You will now be able to gain Od Experience and Od Coins when defeating foes or achieving quests and/or objectives. The former will further your Main Path levels. The latter is tracked through your Status Tablet and used as a System-approved currency across all the realms under the System. You will also be able to see the Paths and Path Levels of others near your level or weaker. You’ve also been given +50 Free Od and 1,000 Od Coins.

“The difference between Pathless and Pathtaker is huge,” DeSean said. “This is ridiculous, Lylothia. If we had run into a Chosen Pathtaker before—”

“You would’ve died,” she cut in. “This is why I was adamant about your development. There are already Chosen Pathtakers guarding the Chaos Zone before the first 96 hours have concluded. Tonight will see your world faced with more Chosen who start as Pathtakers. All who’ve failed to reach their paths or a Chaos Zone will be decimated like mere bugs if caught outright.”

DeSean grimaced.

“I’m thrilled for you,” Lylothia said, fluttering around his head. “You will be a force to reckon with depending on how you choose your Skills.”

“Let’s take a crack at my actual path first.”

You’ve unlocked your Main Path: [Warlock Lord - Level 1] and earned a choice of two Systemic Skills.

[Warlock Lord - Level 1]—Negotiate with Devils, fetch minions from the darkest pits of the Hells, and lean on the most nefarious and ruinous of powers to destroy your adversaries. Be it through deceit or domination, you will wreak a malevolent and hellbent path to power. This Main Path will provide Skills for your choosing at certain levels. You will also gain +2 Strength, +6 Agility, +6 Endurance, +10 Focus, +12 Attunement, +5 Free Od with each level up.

DeSean finished rereading his Main Path with a whistle. He’d been wondering what made the Main Path so attractive compared to going pathless other than the obvious stat bonuses from his Records. Evidently, you’d gain a smorgasbord of stats from leveling this thing up rather than just chasing small clumps of Od. Additionally, leveling the Main Path didn’t mean it was a reflection of your actual Od Level, which could mislead other Pathtakers.

DeSean could already see his low level in the Main Path could work as a trick against future enemies. Though, that depended on if he had the highest Od Levels around.

“It has been a long time since the coming of a warlock,” Lylothia said quietly.

DeSean tilted his head. “Why’s that?”

Lylothia flapped down to his shoulder and preened her hair.

“The tale is worth telling when we are not pressed for time, my dear,” the Hell Princess said. “Let us make choices from the Systemic Skills. My only advice to you is to choose powers that you see reusable for multiple occasions and remain expedient.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Please select two Skills from the offered Warlock Lord Skills:

[Void Ball (Great Active)]—Condense the dark element into a small explosive of deep and heavy darkness similar to the void. Victims who are struck by the void-like explosion and fail to have the necessary Endurance/Resistance will suffer silent but deadly damage. This active Skill has a high mana consumption. It can be charged and detonated at will.

“I think I pulled this one off while in my Selection,” DeSean said.

“Really now?” Lylothia gave him a sidelong glance.

“Yeah, really. I was in the middle of dying and I piled in all of the darkness I could grab and then chucked it. Killed most of the enemies in one shot.”

“Impressive,” she said, and it sounded like she meant it, too. “Having this Skill will reduce the cost and increase it’s effectiveness. That’s the advantage of using active System Skills rather than manipulating the magic itself. They’re easier.”

“Lacks flexibility, however,” DeSean commented.

“Indeed,” she said.

[Banishment (Great Active)]—While a Warlock furthers their powers in summoning, they should have the means to defend themselves against their own summoned creatures that may go wild or those of others. When Banishment is used, the target will return to their origins prior to being summoned, destroying the bindings or powers that had tethered brought them here. This depends on the magic aptitude of the user. This active Skill regulates its mana consumption based on the Attunement/Magic Aptitude of the targeted summoning.

Lylothia squinted at him.

“I won’t use it on you, I swear.” DeSean shrugged. “Hey, could be useful one day when we meet a Hell Princess you don’t like.”

“But will it be absolutely needed now?”

No, it wouldn’t be. At this stage, if he was worried about people summoning monsters, he wouldn’t bother trying to send them home. He would just kill the summoner and the summoned creature along with them.

“These offers don’t go away if that is a concern,” Lylothia explained. “You can always revisit them when you reach leveling milestones. But at those points, you will have new offers from the System.”

“Huh, okay. And I’m pretty sure I could learn Banishment without the System.”

“Exactly.”

So, let me go for something that isn’t exactly in my current wheelhouse and I can see being useful in the near future.

[Tormenting Whip (Great Active)]—Conjure a cord of dark lightning with a flick of your arm. On impact, this Skill will emit force, lightning, and dark energy bent toward heightening the pain of the victim. The Skill disappears as quickly as it appears unless the user feeds it constant mana that increases exponentially.

“I’m not exactly a fan of this one,” DeSean said, “but I can see it doing some damage.”

“It would be redundant,” Lylothia said.

“Redundant?”

“I have something for you once we are done here.”

[Eldritch Bolt (Great Active)]—Emit a bolt of force and eldritch energy, striking the victim and altering the impacted flesh. Due to eldritch magic’s uncanny qualities, the victim will suffer changes that oppose their standard nature in a manner similar to polymorphism. The changed tissue will fall under the control of the user, capable of becoming an unthinking, but loyal minion.

“Ah,” Lylothia sighed pleasantly. “This is the first I’ve met a mortal having this Skill. I’ve only read of it and it's ilk. Your capabilities go beyond my predictions, Warlock.”

“So, pick this one,” DeSean said.

“I… I didn’t say that.”

“Uh-huh. Let me just look at this last one before coming to a conclusion.”

[Lesser Infernal Tongue of the 72 Hells (Great Passive)]—Madness, depravity, and horror await those who delve into the written and spoken works of the 72 Hells. But your willingness to acquire dark knowledge can be recognized and furthered by this passive Skill, granting you infernal fluency of the myriad of basic tongues spoken by imps and lesser demons. Take care when speaking with greater Devils, for they have an expanded knowledge of the rules, customs, norms of the languages and can talk you into destruction.

“That… is a most excellent Skill,” Lylothia said through gritted teeth. “I do not care for the System packaging the culture of the Hells in a manner that makes it seem so… simple. But I will not pretend that this won’t be quite advantageous for you.”

“But if I’m not careful, I can talk myself into a bad situation,” DeSean said.

“Then do not speak the Infernal Tongue with demons of a stature much greater than you.”

“So, it’s decided, then.”

“Is it?”

DeSean paused to think. The Skill options came in a variety. He could up his fighting capabilities with [Void Ball] and [Tormenting Whip]. It was unfortunate that DeSean didn’t see himself in a position where [Banishment] might prove useful in the immediate future. It was more likely to go unused, and he was better off learning how to banish the traditional way.

He could see the damage that those two active Skills would unleash, but his heart wasn’t in it. Basically, his desires didn’t flow toward more destructive powers even though he’d wanted that days before.

Instead, he was more attracted to the weird and… influential. Something about how Lylothia responded to [Eldritch Bolt] made DeSean give it a second look. The Skill seemed like another means to create minions without summoning. That had implications.

Additionally, [Lesser Infernal Tongue of the 72 Hells] might help him out greatly while he was traversing through the Ozark Chaos Zone. Especially since he got access to special areas as a Hell Marked, which might mean he could glean some knowledge from the zone and the secrets of a Hell Princess that was stronger than Lylothia. Truthfully, the princess’s reactions to those Skills added weight to DeSean’s interest in them. But these choices weren’t made just for her. This was his Path, after all, and his decisions were going to follow him as long as he survived.

He made his choices known, and the System responded in kind.

You’ve obtained the Skill [Eldritch Bolt (Great Active)].

You’ve obtained the Skill [Lesser Infernal Tongue of the 72 Hells (Great Passive)].

“I did it,” he said, leaning back against a gnarled tree trunk. The princess fluttered around and landed on his outstretched arm. “I’m a little hesitant to look at my Status Tablet.”

“Why’s that?”

“The numbers are going to be crazy.”

“We shall sort it out together.”

DeSean pulled up his Status Tablet. He updated Lylothia on the numbers, his breath catching after he saw his Free Od.

DeSean Dante Solomon (Great Cambion)

Records: [Hell Marked], [Great Defense Leader], [Hardcore Grit], [Great Chaos Finder], [Pathless Skill Chaser], [Pathless Chaos Mage], [Great First Kiss of the Forty-First Hell Princess], [Noble Titled], [First Hell Marked Pathtaker of the 13th Revelation Cycle], [13th Revelation Pathtaker]

Main Path: [Warlock Lord - Level 1]

Od Coins: 1,000

Skills: [Talented Summoning (Great Passive)], [Vicious Curse Spinning (Great Passive)], [Dark Revelry (Great Passive)], [Eldritch Bolt (Great Active)], [Lesser Infernal Tongue of the 72 Hells (Great Passive)].

Od Level: 299

Strength: 41

Agility: 42

Endurance: 62

Focus: 48

Attunement: 106

Free Od: 175

Storage: [Empty]

“Ah, this is the most excellent of developments,” Lylothia complimented. “My dear, you are ahead in many areas where other Marked would be weak. Although your Strength is a tad higher than I like, you have more than enough Free Odd to make adjustments. Agility and Focus both need some attention, then you can add a little more to Endurance before you pour the rest into… Warlock? Warlock, what is the matter?”

DeSean swooned, trying to hold himself together. Everything was spinning around him. Colors made sounds. Green things sounded like a history of life that stretched back since the first tree. The great blue sky was a roaring ocean passing overhead. Beyond that he saw the edges of reality being flayed apart, every divine eye a sinkhole of power that was so enormous, DeSean felt his spirit getting crushed under their gazes.

When he glanced down at the fleshy hell ears on the ground, he sensed their origins. The Seventy-Two Hells, and all the Princesses listening closely. It was an impossible thing being able to sense all of that, but DeSean just dumped 175 Free Od into Attunement, That leap of power might’ve made the transition quite… odd, even if only temporarily.

“You spent it all on Attunement,” Lylothia droned tiredly.

“You’re so cute when you’re angry.”

“You are quite vexing at times, Warlock.” Lylothia flapped away and hovered in the air. “Fine then. I suppose an Od Level of 474 with a Main Path at Level 1 is workable. Still, I strongly suggest applying Free Odd toward Agility and Focus when the chance arrives. They should be on the same plane as Endurance.”

“Will do!” DeSean saluted drunkenly.

The Hell Princess sighed. “Come now. This small piece of my true grand self has been productive while you were away. It is time we graft your new arm.”

“Graft?”

The Hell Princess smiled deviously and led him to the suburban.