Unsurprisingly, Augmentations for Vitality were almost all related to things like defence, health, and stamina. Though, in Ugnash’s case, he had a separate Attribute for energy and stamina management called Endurance, which I had heard of before, so his stamina-related Augmentations went under that.

Also unsurprisingly, neither Ugnash nor Khagnio had any good ideas about what sort of Augmentations would benefit a mage like me. I wanted to cry. Where was Cerea when I needed her?

What I did learn from them was interesting though. I mulled it over that night when I was lying in bed, Enrico dozing inside the crack in my room’s wall that he called home.

Ugnash had an Augmentation called Revitalize. It was pretty basic. For every hit he suffered directly, without blocking, his subsequent counterblow was empowered.

That hadn’t sounded very health-related to me, at first, but I realized afterwards what he meant. His health was almost acting like an actual resource, one that was created by his Augmentation to burn away when struck in exchange for more force and fury.

His Endurance’s Augmentation was interesting too. Called Overburden, which was an odd name for a passive ability that essentially built up a separate store of energy every time he blocked attacks. If Ugnash was ever exhausted, which he tended to get rather quickly when exerting himself in more demanding situations like against the Greater Brillwyrm, he could draw on that secondary store.

Unlike the big, red Rakshasa, Khagnio had been a lot more reticent about his Vitality Augmentation. I had wheedled it out of him eventually, though.

It was simply called Drain. Whenever he landed a blow, he recovered a small portion of his health and stamina. It worked fantastically well for a rogue like him, considering he specialized in landing powerful and frequent strikes.

I turned in bed, considering. None of those were particularly attractive for me. Helpful, sure, but not exactly enhancing what I already had.

Also, I was pretty sure it would be difficult to find an Augmentation for Vitality that was complementary. I was a mage, not some kind of frontline fighter.

Alright, well, with the way I had trained and used my armour and mace and shield, I technically was someone who wouldn’t need to shy away from the frontlines. I had prioritized being able to fight, no matter how it happened, and the way I had grown stronger and used my abilities, I was eminently capable of mixing my magic and my physicality.

Plus, it was extremely satisfying to feel my fist connect with a stupid bastard’s stupid face.

I still wasn’t sure if that Ogre I had kicked into the wall was alive or not, and I found that I didn’t particularly care.

More information. I grumbled into my pillow. Once again, I would need to find and secure more information before I could settle on something that I was happy with.

Next day, I headed out to do just that. Well, I was going to, but then other things called my attention and I was forced to spend time elsewhere.

Firstly, there were the prayers and everything related to that. Escinca had already informed me that Path Interactions weren’t easily repeatable. They needed conditions to occur, but those conditions couldn’t just be memorized and repeated. Like lightning, they weren’t supposed to strike the same place twice.

In other words, I ought to be free to lead prayers again without worrying about my consciousness departing Ephemeroth for a while.

And sure, I tried. There wasn’t a hitch and everything went smoothly. Although, I was a bit disappointed because I gained no ranks from the exercise like I had last time. Still, I could tell it was important to Escinca and the other cultists, so I was happy to oblige and give back in such a small way that took little energy and even less time.

The more important thing was learning about Path Interactions. Even if it couldn’t be replicated, there was an integral reasoning it had followed. Knowing that would help me predict when the next interaction occurred, so I could at least mentally prepare for it.

Another thing to learn about from Kostis. Maybe even Xokrist.

Before I went anywhere, I played around with Field Manipulation again. The little trick I had pulled off against the brutish adventurer Ogre had felt rather inspired. I still couldn’t create the fields on skin or bodies directly, which was an annoying limitation.

Normally, I might have a shield with me in a dungeon expedition or something like that. But that wouldn’t be the case all the time.

The easy solution, of course, was to find a glove. I didn’t like the idea of covering up my hand all the time, but I could keep it inside the storage bag for easy retrieval at least. A shield would be kind of pushing it. Although maybe not if I got a better storage bag…

I wanted to head to the Mage Guild. But I was leery of actually finding Kostis there, and I couldn’t exactly head out to the academy without some sort of invitation, especially since it was unlikely they’d have another job up so soon after I had completed the last one.

Instead, I took a walk around Ring Four, Sreketh keeping me company.

“What do you want to do at the orphanage, Ross?” Sreketh asked, sounding slightly unsure. “You need more kids to run the cult? I’m not enough?”

I snorted, then patted her scaly head. “I think you’re more than enough. No, I want to see how things are actually run here.”

It was an odd feeling. Back on Earth, I hadn’t felt this sort of… urge to dig into my surrounding society. There had been charities there, worthwhile causes I could have donated to, excellent research I could have supported. If I’d had the money. Well, I hadn’t been poor, but I had never felt rich enough to believe that anything I contributed would make a real difference.

I could complain that I had been too hemmed in by the pressures of life. By rent and utilities and bills and groceries and the fear that one wrong accident would send me hurtling into debt.

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But really, there was no point in making excuses. That wasn’t the right kind of thinking. Every little bit helped.

The difference from Earth and here was that now I was a part of my community in a way I hadn’t been before.

I was welcomed in eagerly by the orphanage matron. The buxom middle-aged lady fawned over me, and I remembered her fondly from the time she had visited the temple with all her kids. How scared she had been when one of the Thralls had taken a child, and how relieved they all were when said child had been safely returned.

She took me on a tour of the orphanage, which was a squat, brick building. It was the first properly stone construction I had seen on Ring Four, minus the temples. Thankfully, it was in a much better structural condition.

The interior, however, was a different story. Even the matron seemed a bit embarrassed at how many children had to take the same room, how many pallets were creaky and cracked and one hard jump away from falling apart entirely, how there was very little space for other furniture or any rooms that weren’t strictly necessary for survival.

At least it was clean. I had to give them that. The large dining room and the kitchens were both well-tended.

“What would help you the most?” I asked the matron.

She looked at the kids having fun with Sreketh. Most of the children were at the school, but the very young ones who weren’t ready for education tended to spend their whole day at the orphanage.

“In all honesty, there is so much I would welcome,” the matron eventually said. “Some of the furniture here is older than I am. Most of the help I’ve managed to gather are people I can’t afford to provide anything to in return. The orphanage is also small, and we could certainly do with more rooms or a new wing…” She grimaced. “You did ask for what would help.”

The same old feelings tugged at me again. The same old story. Sure, I had earned a decent chunk of money, but that was only in comparison to what other individuals in Ring Four likely had.

It wasn’t enough to resupply the entire orphanage with new furniture, much less build a whole new wing for it.

But I crushed those thoughts. All I did now was nod, remembering the troubles that the matron faced.

“What about food?” I asked.

“Ah, we’ve been managing,” the matron said. “Getting anything nutritious is a bit of a challenge.”

I remembered the meals I had shared with Ugnash and the others on Ring Two. At least I wouldn’t exactly call most of them nutritious.

We walked and talked more for a bit, before I thanked her for her efforts and took my leave. One of the last things she had complained about was her fear that there was no one to take her place when she finally bit the dust. Grimness, I was realizing, was a rather constant company for almost everybody in Ring Four.

It wasn’t as obvious when I spent so much time not in Ring Four. But when I did, I couldn’t escape it.

I visited the school and the hospital next. Unlike the orphanage, the people running those hadn’t come to the cult in ages, so didn’t treat me anywhere near as kindly as the orphanage matron. In fact, the hospital was very clear that if I didn’t have any pressing injuries or illnesses to tend to, the best way I could help was by not wasting their time.

Rather rude, but I supposed if I was as harried and busy as they were, I’d have been leery of random strangers in cult robes promising to “help”.

In which case, it was all on me for not preparing a better pitch.

Thankfully, my PA experiences had trained me well on what to do when frankness wasn’t going to work in these situations. What I needed was some sort of in. Typically, this involved forming a connection through a connection.

There was a part me that hated the “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” mantra. Thankfully, when it came to getting what I wanted, mild hypocrisy wasn’t something that would stop me.

Turned out the connection I needed was the matron from the orphanage. One of the head healers at the hospital was actually directly related to the woman, a niece or seventeenth-cousin-nine-times-removed or something along those lines. She would be able to slip a good word in for me.

Although, it would only really be effective once I actually did something meaningful for the orphanage. Made sense, I supposed.

The school was a lot more open about it, though that was likely because I had Sreketh along. I kept getting questions on whether I was going to enrol her, and a part of me thought it was a good idea.

Sreketh was opposed to it, however, so I didn’t push. She also already had a decent education as it was, having attended when she had been a bit younger.

At least I got to see the school’s problems much like I did with the orphanage. Old and broken furniture, too few teachers for the number of students they wanted to teach properly, some classrooms that were entirely unusable because of their conditions. It definitely needed some help.

“Are you really going to try and fix it all?” Sreketh asked with innocent hopefulness.

I patted the back of my head. “I wish I could, but it won’t be easy. I’ve got my own business to attend to, and I don’t think I can do it alone.” I smiled down at her. “But don’t worry, it’s a step-by-step process. Things will change, just not in one day.”

Sreketh seemed satisfied with that.

All that had ended up taking a good chunk of the day, but I still went to the bank afterwards. The sight of new money in my account definitely turned my eyes into coins for a second.

“Can I send a money order straight from the bank?” I asked the Rakshasa bank teller.

“Certainly, Mr. Cultist.” It was almost funny how polite and respectful they were, when comparing my experience in the Ring Two Adventurer’s Guild. These people couldn’t afford to let any personal prejudices get in the way of their job. “Where would you like to send it? And do you have any specific orders or receipts from the destination, if it’s a vendor for instance?”

“I do, yes.” I got a form from the teller and filled it out with the details. “Here you go.”

Like a perfect professional, the teller only glanced at it to make sure all the details were correct. He smiled at me in reassurance and promised it would be processed within the week.

I said my thanks and left. On my way to the bank, I had passed by a warehouse that supplied basic furniture, especially the ones that were used to outfit the more traditional, fully furnished apartments on Ring Three.

Turned out most tenants on Ring Three couldn’t get their own furniture. Not unless they were a resident of one of the rarer, more affluent neighbourhoods. Most landowners fully furnished their flats, charging the tenants a separate amount for their use and also in case any got irreparably harmed.

All I had to do was offer one of the suppliers a big-enough work order to send some down to Ring Four. It wasn’t a lot. I doubted it would provision even a quarter of the orphanage.

But every little bit helped.

I did pass by the Mage Guild before returning, but just as I suspected, there was no sign of Kostis there. If I wanted a meeting, I’d need to send another letter.

Not that I really wanted to depend entirely on Kostis for all my information. So instead, I asked Silhatsa, who replied that the Mage Guild did indeed offer a class on Augmentations. Unfortunately, it had certain pre-requisite courses that I needed to take, but I was glad to find I was on my way to getting a bypass.

“Since you’re Silver-ranked now,” the receptionist said. “You should be able to attend without any further requirements, if you can get a recommendation for it from a professor.”

“A recommendation, huh?” I said. “Thanks, Silhatsa.”

Feeling rather good about most of my day, I returned to the temple to find Escinca poring over a letter.

“Everything alright?” I asked.

Escinca looked up with a furrowed brow. “The Kalnislaw finally sent their letter.”

“Oh, yeah? What’d they say?”

“They want to meet us. In Ring Four. Right here, in the temple.”