It turns out is actually very easy to sneak a cat through a building operated primarily by humans and machines. The unnamed fae is as adept at moving silently as any mundane cat, and while my dress stands out compared to others in the building. It must have become common enough to see strangely clad mercenaries in this part of the complex. I walk past a pair of human carrying various objects of little interest, while the cat merely flickered past them without an issue.

The goal of our little search is simple enough, a window through which the fae can leave the building. I mumble to myself as we walk so it is unheard by any potential onlookers. "The plan here is simple, we get you out of this iron complex and you move to unravel the riddle of why Goblins are here. I trust your kind's affinity and understanding of the deeper magics to make this a possible task for you, when you have found it you will contact me and I will manipulate events so you can lead me to the source."

The cat doesn't reply as it at least shows the good sense to not question my orders, and soon enough we manage to find a suitable window. It takes me several tries to get the window to open, but when I frustratedly flail at it a command with NVR triggers and the window slides open. I open my arms and let the fae jump into them and from them out through the window, as it falls I see the feline form flicker as it transforms into a vulture and flies out into the darkness of the night.

Truly the deeper question about the goblins should be solved by this as even an inexperienced fae should be able to find what I need. And if it fails me then I am sure I can find more suitable agents than that unnamed cat. Names are important for creatures of the eldritch, even for the self destructive entities of the void. Names, titles, and epiteths help define and shape them. They transform the creature and empower them into becoming more than what they were, new branches of power can become available to an eldritch being given a suitable title. The promise of a name given by a being of my age, stature, and former power should motivate almost any eldritch being regardless of stature.

I feel the tug of mana linking me to the Eldritch servant vanish as it finishes it's task in the improvised ritual chamber. No traces are left and that means that I am free to return to my quarters without any sign of my actions left to be discovered. Mara gives me an inscrutable look as I enter our shared quarters after having quickly rushed back. I merely nod to her in response and lay down on my bunk without giving her an opportunity to comment my absence.

Minor as it had been, I must admit to myself that it feels good to have finally used some real magic. Not the brutish spells that sorcerers are so happy to fling, but proper ritual magic that draw on proper understanding of magic not just power itself. Inventing spells for example is a matter of instinct and random chance more than anything else, two spells being cast at the same time or an accidental overuse of mana could suddenly lead to a new spell being discovered. And the Wizards, Sorcerers, and even the Warlocks who went through that thought of it as some kind of accomplishment.

Rituals on the other hand can only be learned through study, understanding, and in the case of Warlocks: Sacrifice. I grin as I go back through my memories and taste the feeling of the Eldritch mana flowing through the circle and the Glyphs, the sight of the mist forming into a gateway into the Faerie, and the endless enjoyment I gain from victory and displaying my power over others. It is with that last thought that I realize something about myself in that moment in the past.

I did not gloat over my defeated competitor after it was over. The cat had been chided for sure, but that was all part of the game that Summoners and the Summoned play. When I stood there victorious the thought about grinding my supremacy into the cat had not even crossed me for a moment, this was an odd development to say the least as the me of the past would have gleefully crushed the fae's spirit. From the tiniest imp to Trakaya himself, no entity that I have ever dominated can say that they did not have their spirits(and sometimes their bodies) crushed by my gleeful wrath.

What did this change mean? Was it just a moment of strangeness or a pragmatic instict that made me not waste any time? Or have my brief time in this world caused me to evolve or become lesser somehow? As I think about these things it becomes clear to me that even if I had tormented my new minion, I wouldn't have derived any enjoyment from it. Tormenting the dreamborn anchored to my mind was not for pleasure or retribution, but merely a way to pacify a beast. Now that it is under my thumb I am quicker to reward the beast than I am to punish it, and even that is an odd change in myself. Rewarding eldritch beings who serve me is not a habit I was exactly known for in my past life.

Introspection of this nature is difficult for me or at least I have never been inclined towards philosophy. I am who I am and I do what I do, has always been my mindset when it comes to thinking about myself. There should be no reason to give any more thoughts to the past except as a means to learn from my mistakes. But still this recent change to my habits gnaws at my mind until I mercifully fall into slumber. 

Waking up the next day I realize the need to remain proactive in my search on this world and it is time to experiment with one of the most lauded functions of the NVR. Accomplishment Points, currency of raw power rewarded by the system itself to those who finishes tasks on it's behalf. I have earned one such point, but I have waited to see what I can do with it. So while I lay there in bed I focus my mind to let the interface reveal how one uses these Accomplishment Points.

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ACCOMPLISHMENT POINTS CHART

Attributes: 5 Accomplishment Points Skills: 2 Accomplishment Points Conditions: 3 Accomplishment Points Spells: 1 Accomplishment point per level Rituals: 1 Accomplishment point per level Blueprints: 1 Accomplishment point per level Recipes: 1 Accomplishment point per level Principles: 15 Accomplishment points per level

I will never be used to the word level being used in such an odd context, but that aside the chart seems understandable enough. With a single AP point all my options are limited to mystical ones and presumeably only neophyte magic at that. The conditions option is a curious one and I interrogate the interface to tell me more, apparently one can buy off most conditions or buy permanent ones with 3 APs. I file this option away for a potential future scheme. I focus my mind to open the spells and rituals charts, as recipes and blueprints are of limited interest to me until I am more established.

AP Spell Market

Occult Eye: Allows you to see what is hidden Absorb Data: Absorbs sources of data into your NVR Eldritch Bolt: Simple attack with Eldritch Energy Curse of Encumberment: Puts weight on your enemy Lesser Lifedrain: Drains life from an enemy Transform Tool: Transforms a handheld tool Simple Mana Shield: Conjures a simple mana shield  Curse of Distaste: Inhibit a target with a curse of distaste Eye for Reagents: Let's you identify plants and other material that can be used for your recipes Unchain Dreamborn: Send your anchored dreamborn into another person's mind and/or NVR

AP Ritual Market

Dark Sacrifice: Sacrifice to your patron to recieve a boon Obscuring Ward: Puts a ward that obscures a location from unwanted attention...living and technological alike Tattoo of Containment: Contain a lesser eldritch being in your body by making a tattoo prison for them Nightmare Curse: Curse a target with nightmares where they are confronted by their worst fears Poison Dreamscape: Place a toxin in a dreamscape to harm intruders upon entry. Mental Anchor: Temporarily transfer your negative mental conditions to an object Suspend Lesser Spell: Suspend a spell to be activated on a condition chosen by the Ritualist Dreamborn Mutation: Allow your anchored Dreamborn to mutate your physical form according to it's nature

The long and overwhelming boxes that assail my vision, makes me promise myself to from now on look at these things seperately. I must also say that most of the descriptions attached to the spells and rituals are ridiculously vague, I can barely consider these to be any help at all. The list seems to contain a strange combination of magic that I had known in the past, and entirely alien spells and rites that I have never seen before.

I consider the list carefully as I ponder which one of these I should pick. Occult eye is an old favored spell of mine as it not only is helpful to detect hidden people and things, it also specifically focuses my magical senses to discover hidden taints, artifacts, and remnants of magic. The various curse spells, eldritch bolt, and lesser lifedrain would help me in combat. But at the same time I should potentially work on becoming a more diverse spellcaster rather than a brutish one. 

The rituals for the most part looked interesting, especially suspend lesser incantation, obscuring ward, and dark sacrifice. Since these are magics I am long familiar with, but as my time is short and my access to proper Warlock tools are limited. Maybe I need to prioritize the short-term before the long-term and then when things are more stable I can go back to more proper magics.

Alien magic like: absorb data, dreamborn, and mental anchor are discarded for now. I don't want to learn magic that I am unfamiliar with at present, there is a time and place for experimental focuses like these. That time is sadly not now as the days ahead are entirely in the fog of the future. Therefore, I focus on Occult Eye as my chosen spell and I feel a rush of knowledge flow through me as the old spell is within my grasp once again.

CONGRATULATIONS: You have learned the Level 1 Spell: Occult Eye. Occult Eye is a spell that lets you sense what is hidden, both mundanely and magical. It also let's you identify objects worthy of being sacrificed to your Patron.

I can't help myself as I notice the last part of the spell and I laugh while laying in my bed. This had been one of the benefits with the spell that I had hoped to get as an ancillary one. But the spell has been slightly modified to be perfect for what I most desperately need, a way to gather objects to sacrifice to Mara. I dimly sense Mary glancing over to me from her end of the room, but the laughter will not stop.