Hunter looked around the group of tieflings with a cocky grin on his face. He couldn’t wait to defeat them and gain more power for himself. The pilfer gave the teenager a knowing look.

“Excited, Vessel? That’s good. We’ll have you face off against one at first.”

A mustard-colored tiefling took a couple of steps in Hunter’s direction. Hunter’s checked over the demon with his Eye of the Hurricane. The man was wearing heavy golden plate, but Hunter’s skill identified weak points in the shoulders, elbows, knees, and groin. A wind lance to any of those locations would quickly end the battle. The tiefling wielded two short curved swords like the man knew how to use them. It was a departure from the individuals he had defeated in the Outpost.

Hunter twirled his staff and felt the wind lift around him. He frowned as he noticed that the air didn’t respond as quickly to his commands. He tried to check his status sheet, but nothing would pull up again. The sensation wasn’t uncomfortable, but it was a bit like trying to ride a bike for the first time without training wheels. Hunter wondered if the Archives had assisted the utilization of his skills up to this point. If that was the case, then something was stifling his abilities and he needed to learn how to use them without the system’s influence.

I’m going to need to forget that reflex.

“You may begin,” the pilfer announced.

Before the last syllable had left the demon’s mouth, Hunter was already in motion. He missed his Windstriders. Hunter liked attacking from unexpected angles, and the boots gave him unparalleled mobility in singular battle. They were useful items and he hoped they hadn’t been destroyed. Although, since Hunter had been burned alive, it was a good assumption that everything outside of his staff and mask had been burned to ash.

I didn’t even check to see if my fancy boxers survived!

Hunter dismissed his errant thoughts as he rocketed toward his enemy. Buoyed by the wind, his speed was unmatched by the unsuspecting tiefling. This was the kind of confrontation that suited Hunter’s abilities. Hunter’s Rising Wind caught the tiefling in the chin and cracked the demon’s jaw. Hunter immediately activated Tempest Strikes and Wind Lance at the same time. His staff blurred as the end punched through the tieflings shoulders, elbows, knees, and groin. When Hunter retracted his staff and returned to an Eagle Stance, the tiefling had already collapsed dead.

A part of Hunter realized that this was the first humanoid that he had killed. Imps and ghorum didn’t feel like murder. Hunter approached it with the same attitude he did pest control. It was gross but necessary. He felt a momentary discomfort at dispatching the tiefling, but a feeling of hunger quickly replaced it. He had won, so what did he earn?

Hunter glanced over at the pilfer, and the demon laughed at the naked greed on the young warrior’s face.

“Yes, you’ve earned a reward,” the monster announced. It raised a meaty palm, and the eye in the center fixated on the fallen tiefling. The demons around their fallen comrade stepped back a couple of paces, and Hunter wondered why they seemed afraid. He watched in fascination as gray smoke began to spiral from the cooling corpse of the demon.

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Hunter recognized the smoke for what it was—soul energy. It wound itself into a complicated rope of power as it was absorbed by the pilfer. The monster used another arm to lay its palm flat. Hunter watched as small motes of gray dust began to collect on the surface of the demon’s skin like a miniature sandstorm. As the monster absorbed more of the energy from the tiefling’s corpse, the sand started to solidify. When the last of the power was absorbed from the dead demon, Hunter saw a small ash-colored pearl created in the other palm.

The teenager frowned at the pearl in suspicion. It wasn’t a shiny gem or even a brick of gold. It’s seemed like it held little value, and Hunter knew he would be annoyed if this was his reward.

The pilfer laughed, and it sounded like a drowning victim gasping their last breath.

“Don’t worry, Vessel. This is more important than it appears.”

Hunter wasn’t convinced. “What is it?”

The pilfer scuttled toward Hunter and held out its palm with the pearl nestled on top. No matter how many times the young warrior saw a pilfer move, he was convinced that something that large shouldn’t be able to move so quickly.

“This is a soul gem. It’s the currency of the Infernal Horde. It contains a portion of an entity’s collective experience and skills. Consuming it allows members of the Horde to create classes and grow in levels. If the gem is potent enough, you can even learn skills from the defeated opponent.”

Hunter shivered at the thought of being granted a class. He had been sent to the Rift without the ability to earn experience, and then a quest rewarding a class was dangled over his head. Even he hadn’t already thought that the Infernal Horde was the perfect place for him, he would’ve been convinced by this small gray pearl. He had barely been on the side of the Horde, and they were already granting him more power than he knew what to do with.

Hunter plucked the pearl from the pilfer’s palm and summoned Black Wind to his fingertips. A small shadow-colored tornado spun around the gem and ground away its surface. His abilities scoured gray dust from the pearl, and the particles immediately settled onto Hunter’s skin. He kept expecting a system message to inform him of what was happening, but he was disappointed. The Archives remained silent.

The system’s silence didn’t prevent the rush of power Hunter felt as the last of the pearl was scoured away. He felt stronger, faster, and more durable. Just this small taste of vital soul energy made him vibrate with excitement. He wanted more. He looked up at the pilfer’s horrific maw with his cocksure grin. It faded at the pilfer’s words.

“Strange, I had expected you to earn some levels or gain a class, but that information is still hidden from me. Do you feel any different?”

“I feel there’s lightning flowing through my veins. I want more.”

The pilfer chucked. “Of course you do, Vessel. However, you don’t have any new knowledge? Perhaps a couple of skills that you now know how to perform? Your opponent was skilled with Meteors of Avarice. Do you have the skill?”

Hunter frowned at the demon’s words and searched for new knowledge. Nothing came to mind. He didn’t have any new knowledge of greed skills. Nor did he feel like he had a class that tied all of his various abilities together. He felt stronger but little more than that.

Damn, I wish I had my status screen.

Hunter couldn’t confirm anything the pilfer was saying. He felt both disabled and enabled by his stat sheet. He decided to tell the truth.

“No, I don’t have any new skills that I’m aware of.”

He wanted to feel a measure of shame, but it was fleeting. If he didn’t have a class or new skills, he would kill more tieflings until he earned one. The pilfer seemed to have the same thought.

“There’s a reason the Rift Keeper chose you to become the Vessel. Perhaps, you need more soul energy to make it happen.”

The demon clapped its hands. “Two this time! The Vessel needs more sacrifices.”

This time, two tieflings separated from the pack. Hunter turned to them with a grin on his face. One was a sword user, and the other was wearing light robes and carried a wand of some kind. It was a melee user and a magic-user. Their deaths would give Hunter two opportunities to learn skills.

Perfect.