Silas slept straight through to the next morning. He really needed the rest. His whole body and mind had been exhausted, so he made the most of the chance to recover.
When he woke up, he was both thirsty and hungry. On top of that, he noticed he didn't smell very good.
"You need to take a bath," Malachar said. "Even I, who don't even have a nose, can smell your stench."
"Are you serious?" Silas said, surprised.
Malachar just laughed. Silas couldn't tell if he was joking or not, but either way, he knew he needed a bath.
When he went downstairs, he was surprised to see Beatrix already working behind the counter.
"I thought you had died," she said with a light laugh. "I made some breakfast for you."
The food was still warm and waiting for him: bread, eggs, and even a sausage. It was more than Silas had expected.
He devoured it eagerly. After his long hours of sleep, that breakfast didn't last long with him. Silas also needed to clean himself, and he was not the only one who thought that. Some of the patrons were looking at him during the breakfast.
The tavern owner greeted him and brought another gift: new clothes.
"It looks like you are wearing some kind of uniform," the tavern owner said, "you should use simpler clothes while traveling. A cloak is also good."
Traveling was dangerous, not just because of magical beasts. There were also thieves, assassins, mercenaries, and mages. Silas hoped to avoid them, and he knew the right clothes could help.
"Thank you for this," Silas said, "I don't know how to repay you."
"It's nothing," the tavern owner said with a smile, "you can shower in the back."
Silas left the tavern and found a place to bathe behind the main building. There was a simple wooden bathtub waiting for him.
A few buckets of water were already set out for him.
"The owner must have brought them to me," thought Silas, "what a nice man."
The water was cold.
"Get used to this," Malachar said, "at least until you learn a basic fire spell to heat up the water."
"Can you teach me?" Silas asked, "that would make my life much easier."
"Everything on its time," Malachar said, "after you are done with your bath, I can start up your system."
Silas walked into the bathroom holding his new clothes, not quite ready for what was ahead.
"Can you... not see me bathe? It's weird, you know?" Silas said.
Malachar agreed to it. "Yes, I can shut down my senses. I'll do that. You don't even need to ask me."
Silas was relieved that Malachar said he wouldn't watch him bathe. Still, Silas couldn't help but wonder if he could really trust that.
He undressed and stepped into the cold water. It was tough. Silas wasn't rich, but he was used to having hot water.
The chilly autumn air made the cold bath even harder. Silas pushed through and tried to finish as quickly as he could.
When he finished, he put on his new clothes. They were simple leather garments, but the quality seemed decent. Silas ran his hand over the fabric.
"It's better than I expected," he said.
He thought the black cloak looked great. With its hood, it made him look mysterious, almost like a mage.
At the magic academy, cloaks like this were not allowed. Students had to wear the academy uniform, and only teachers could wear different clothes.
"I look cool, right?" Silas said.
Malachar couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Calm down, it's just a black cloak. This doesn't mean you are a powerful mage now… Look, I want to show you the system now, can we focus?"
When Malachar talked about the system, Silas stopped caring about anything else. All he could think about was the system.
"The system? How do we activate it? I thought I had activated it already," Silas said.
The system was already partly activated, but that was only the beginning. Most features were still locked, and Silas couldn't use any of them yet.
"First and foremost, pick up the necklace you hid in your pocket, the one you found in the tomb, and use it. You need to wear it."
Silas had almost forgotten the necklace in the pocket of his old pants. He felt embarrassed for forgetting something so important.
"Just wear it?" Silas asked.
"Yes. I already said it. Don't be stupid."
"Just confirming things, damn it."
He took the necklace with both hands and put it on again. This time, Malachar used his powers to fully activate the system.
A status screen appeared in front of Silas, leaving him confused. Malachar spoke to him again.
"I'll be giving you two initial spells. One is your core spell, a passive one that you'll be using at all times," Malachar said.
*
[User: Silas]
[Patron: Malachar, the God of Death/ Soul Integrity: 0.1%]
[Path: The Revenant]
[Soul: Mortal-Tier grade 1]
[Mana: 50/50]
[Mana Regen: 5 / hour]
[Spirit: 8 (Governs total mana and the power of summons) ]
[Willpower: 6 (Governs mana Regen and mental defense) ]
[Presence: 3 (Governs command over undead & intimidation) ]
[Vitality: 2 (Governs health, stamina, and resistances) ]
[Bound Artifact: Pendant of the Unmourned]
[Soul Essence: 0]
[Faith Points: 0]
[Path Abilities]
[Soul-Siphon: Drains the lingering life force of the recently slain, converting it into Soul Essence. (Passive) ]
[Summon Minor Skeleton: Cost: 30 Mana. Summons a fragile skeleton from nearby bones or a corpse. Duration: 10 minutes.]
*
There were a few attributes for Silas to learn, but the explanations were right next to them, so he didn't have much trouble. He could always ask Malachar if he needed help.
"How do I increase my attributes?" Silas asked.
"Every time your soul raises a rank, they will increase. But you can also increase them by trading Soul Essence with me."
"And this… Soul Essence, how do I get it?"
Malachar sighed, "It is written there… Screw it, I'll explain anyway. Every time you kill something that has mana, be it a mage or a beast, you'll gather Soul Essence through your passive, Soul-Siphon. Get it?"
Silas was beginning to understand how things worked. Malachar needed power to regain his former strength, and Soul Essence was part of that.
With Soul Essence, Silas could get stronger by raising his attributes and even buying knowledge from Malachar. There were many spells he could learn, but each one had a price.
"So my next step is to find beasts, weak ones, that I can kill with my other skill, Minor Skeleton, and gather Soul Essence from them?" Silas said.
"Yes."
"And what about these Faith Points?" he asked.
"This is something for the future, when you can gather followers, start sects, etc. Don't think about it too much."
Knowing all of that now, Silas was excited for what the future held for him. He couldn't wait to summon his first skeleton, and siphon his first soul...