More time elapsed before Vin's mind had recuperated. Even after, he found it hard to return to- well, whatever was normal for him. He'd seen his entire life in an instant. It made him reflective and made him miss his loved ones more than ever. He wanted to go home.

  Sitting around doing nothing while his Shade worked wasn't an option. He slowly wandered to the wardrobe inside the dark room, confirming that everything remaining was women's clothing, and he frowned.

  The idea behind archiving was frightening. But, a power even he feared was one his enemies would tremble beneath. He only had to conquer this new magic, just like the endless flames.

  His hand quivered as he raised it, but he hailed the item named "Vin's death cultist attire" and glanced over it in silent thought. Seeing how the librarian was inspired by Earth's fashion, it looked just like something she'd make.

  It was similar to a black and white hoodie, something he wore often growing up. It had gothic and streetwear elements and a skull emblem on the shoulder. The edgy aesthetic, combined with skull-shaped chains on the jacket and pants, gave it a modern yet also sorcerer-like vibe. The outfit was very- him. Well, the goth librarian had also archived him, so, at this point, she knew him almost as well as he knew himself.

  As Vin got dressed, he wondered what his Shade would do first. There was so much he had planned but didn't have the time for, such as learning Elven and looking for Hughton and the enslaved human. Vin also had to kill the earth mage and Kaelix if either were still alive. He also wanted to build something to transport Maeve while her leg was broken. It was a very long list that went on and on.

  His thoughts ended when the lonely bones jumped onto his shoulder again, its fingers finding perch like two five-legged spiders. "I wanted to wait until you recovered to inform you that your rank increased to Seer during last night's onslaught."

  Vin, fully dressed, tucked his hands in his hoodie, stating flatly, "Only in title. Without my flames, I'm about as useful as an Expert rank."

  "Perhaps," Bonely followed, its voice becoming off-put, almost anxious. "But I believe you will want to see the rewards from your achievement..."

  "I assume it's not junk this time," Vin said, glancing at his assistant. He waited for the companion to hail the colorful rift that dispensed the items, most of which disintegrated upon entry to that dimension. However, he caught four magic scrolls.

  According to Bonely, a new scroll was gifted for every rank achieved, each curated by the Journal to meet its owner's needs. He found this to be an interesting detail of the Adventurer system. Since the people were constantly being observed, the rewards they received were catered instead of receiving useless spells.

  Vin managed to trade all of his Expert rewards to give his Journal a companion form; therefore, he never got the spell scroll for that rank. So, he was curious about what kind of magic Bonely determined would benefit him now. Before Vin inspected them, however, the skeleton shivered, cautioning him. "I scoured the directory of spells for some time with a particular theme in mind..."

  "Stop beating around the bush," Vin said, mindful of his assistant's concern.

  "The name of the attire you have on gave me the idea. I thought that perhaps death's cultists were real and not just something the Deity of Mind made up on a whim."

  "Nothing appeared initially, but I was suddenly led to a concealed, dark partition in the Astral Vault. It was not visible to just anyone; I believe your god was involved in my discovery of it."

  Vin's eyes narrowed at the skeleton hand holding onto his sleeve, "It led you to a secret area?"

  The Astral Vault was apparently a place in the highest realm. It didn't quite exist in reality, but Journals could travel there in spirit when it was time to select rewards for their owners. Bonely, not a simple book, didn't follow their usual protocol and grab the first reasonable spell. No, it searched the inventory of millions of magics for something particular, going above and beyond its function.

  As he learned the new spell scrolls, Vin kept what it said in mind. He dove into them one after another, each memory of the cultist leaving his eyes wide and his stomach a little more sick.

  [Spells]

  1) Center Gravity: Novice

  2) Marking: Novice

  3) Shape: Novice

  4) Rotate: Novice

  5) Bend: Novice

  6) Sphere of Silence: Novice

  7) Animate: Master

  8) Crown of Fear: Legendary

  9) Dark Aura: Ascendant

  10) Soul Harvest: Seer

  [ ]

  Every new spell consumed essence instead of mana. Before, Vin believed he was the only one who could utilize his soul for magic, but that wasn't the case. Even more shocking was the fact that the creators were Elves. Powerful mages who studied and learned how to manipulate the mortal spirit for evil. The people he embodied during the memories were disgusting individuals who he would kill if they ever met. They dug up corpses, committed blood sacrifices, drained innocents of their souls, and more he didn't dare to recall.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  Vin placed a hand over his mouth, and his brow tightened, 'There are Elves who worshipp that bird just like the Ravenours.'

  They spent decades inside the Archival Dimension, raising their influence with the dark god and inventing spells rated as high as Curator, the last rank of a Seeker. Spells that were created using the lives of innocent people...

  "I understand it is disturbing," Bonely said. "If you command it, I will avoid these kinds of spells in the future."

  "No, you had the right idea," Vin replied, shaking his head. "It’s not like the spells themself are evil. And right now we need all the strength we can get."

  They decided to start training with the lowest-ranked spell and work up in difficulty.

  First, Animate. The skeleton aid floated off and grabbed a wooden carving from a desk in the room. Its first task was to shape the wood into a form Vin could visualize as 'animated.'

  Vin acted impulsively so he didn't think too hard and accidentally remember what happened when he used the spell scrolls. The next thing he knew, he had created a replica of his skeleton companion.

  Bonely hovered over, clapped against the wooden hand, and told Vin, "You can take your time."

  Vin lowered his creation and stared at Bonely, his mind now elsewhere. "Where'd you learn how to high-five?"

  Bonely folded three fingers to form a peace sign, revealing, "I have been reading the human database. Your people have recently created an edible substance called syrup."

  "Oh? Read me the entry," Vin said, sitting on the floor, crossing his legs, and resting his chin on his palm. The butler-like assistant landed before him, pulling up the record in his mind so he could follow along.

  [Discovered By:] Lucas Vermont

  [Discovered On:] Date: 1/8/300 A.D. (After the death of Archangel Constantine Verthry)

  [Name:] Syrup

  [Notes:] We did it! There are ants EVERYWHERE, but me and Dani made syrup!

  Warning though. It's very sticky. We high fived to celebrate but, there wasn't a fun clap, our palms just got stuck together and we had to wash them.

  Maybe we dilute the syrup with water...

  [End]

  "Funny," Vin remarked, despite his face being as unpleasant as ever. Reading something from another Human was a nice distraction from everything else on his mind.

  Vin refocused on the spell, ready to move on to the next step. Weighing that he had mastered channeling his essence in fire creatures, animating a nonliving thing was easy. He imbued bits of his soul into the wooden hand and then peered at it. A moment later, he shook his head disappointedly.

  It didn't move- of course, it didn't. The wooden object wasn't made of a malleable material like clay, and he didn't give it joints, so its form was static, only bobbing back and forth.

  "Well..." Bonely sounded, hovering around the dull entity. "I believe this spell is mainly used to create golems. You would need to construct a creature with joints for it to move naturally."

  "I don't have time to assemble something like that," he said, reshaping it into a wooden sphere. The solid ball rolled around freely, drawing from his soul to maintain its independence. It looked worthless, but Vin's mind immediately yielded hundreds of ways this spell could be beneficial. For starters, it could compensate for his incompetence with weapons.

  Vin forged the sphere into a pointed dart, eyed a framed painting on the wall, and intentionally threw it off course. The animated object corrected its trajectory, striking the target dead center.

  "You chose a good spell," Vin muttered, holding his palm up to high-five Bonely. The companion slapped itself against his hand, thanking him for the praise.

  Animate wasn't the perfect replacement for his flame creatures. Still, it would definitely help deal with the pesky long-ranged ranged knights.

  Crown of Fear, the Legendary ranked spell, was next. There wasn't a way to practice this ability because it needed a thinking target, but he considered its usefulness.

  From what he knew, it was magic of influence. It aimed directly at the prey's soul, attacking it with their deepest fears. The caster had to incite the individual's anxiety, triggering the effect. The weaker a person's spiritual fortitude, the more susceptible they would be, ranging from a cold chill running down their spine to dark hallucinations.

  Moving on to the Ascendant ranked spell, Dark Aura. Out of all his spells, this one would boost his offensive capability the most. It would allow him to channel his essence around objects, covering it in a shadowy, dark coating. The function was simple, but one law made it compelling.

  One soul could be used to directly damage another. And, since shades only had artificial souls, they were delicate and easier to destroy than living ones. The biggest advantage was that the aura wasn't solid, so it would bypass metal plating, directly striking an individual's essence. Thanks to Bonely, he could continue to fight heavily armored Elves without his fire.

  Vin retrieved the wooden dart and coated it with his essence using the Dark Aura spell. A malevolent shadowy mist surrounded the object, one that stuck to it and didn't dissipate even when thrown. Something as harmless as a simple needle could now destroy his enemies spiritually.

  The last spell was his highest-ranked magic, excluding what he inherited from deities. It was the Seer-ranked ability named Soul Harvest.

  He had to hold off on experimenting with it now because of the risk. But, he could tell by how the Elven cultist in the memory used it that he could gradually replenish his essence by taking from others.

  This was revolutionary, considering he was always surrounded by Ravenours. His only concern was accidentally taking too much and killing them. He would have to experiment with it on enemies before using it regularly, lest he bled all his allies dry before their big operation.

  Vin spent the next hour sharpening his skills, knowing that once he stepped out of the room, there'd be no downtime for practice. With each discovery, he was more impressed by this magic. And those were just the four Bonely chose. The secret cult could have dozens, perhaps hundreds of spells fueled by essence. He hated that, over time, he felt less inclined to kill every cultist member he came across. Instead, he wanted to devour all their knowledge and become an unstoppable force that no one on Auroraan would dare to cross.

  Vin thought about them while he commanded Bonely to return to the form of a spine and attach to his back. He dismissed the bookshelf and ensured he didn't leave anything animated before straightening his hoodie and walking to the exit. Whatever happened that day, he would face head-on as he always had.