Hunter sprinted from the grove and entered into the Sanctuary proper. There were still three other portals that he hadn’t explored and he didn’t have time to pick the wrong one. He crossed the room to enter the portal directly opposite of him.

He went through the same cool, sticky sensation and was dropped in a room that looked like a barracks. There were two rows of metal bunk beds lining either side of the room. In front of each one, there were two wooden chests for storing personal belongings. There were a dozen beds each, which meant there was enough sleeping space for two dozen individuals. At the back of the room was a partitioned area that might be the bathrooms that Hunter was looking for. 

He hurried to the back of the room and entered the arch that separated the space from the rest of the room. To the left, he found a set of communal showers, and to the right, there were a bunch of bathroom stalls. He went right and found six different types of toilets. Hunter didn’t care who or what they were designed for and instead found the one that was most suited for him. Luckily, his sword allowed him to release it. The blade probably sensed the reason and was willing to part with Hunter for a short duration. Since wiping his ass with a sword seemed like a bad way to go, he gave a silent prayer of thanks.

On his way out, he checked his reflection in the mirror for the first time. The sight of his face made him pause. He looked rough. His medium-length black hair was tousled, and parts of it stuck to his scalp with dried blood. He wasn’t sure if it was his or the demons, and either prospect was faintly disgusting. He had black stubble on his face, but it wasn’t the kind of look that action movie heroes get. His facial hair had always been patchy and thin. Instead of looking like a rugged protagonist, he just looked like a kid that hadn’t learned how to shave correctly. He scowled at the hair.

Shouldn’t points in Vitality give me better facial hair or something?

He stroked his flimsy facial hair and wondered if he could grow some kind of epic wizard beard. He shrugged and was about to turn away, but then he realized there was something different about his eyes. 

Typically, his irises were a stormy gray. He had always liked how they caught the light and shone a metallic silver. They were striking. He often received compliments from good-natured older women about how pretty they were. A part of him thought it was embarrassing, but another part enjoyed the extra attention. Now, his eyes were different. A green ring surrounded his pupil like emerald ink in a metallic pond. The difference was slight, but the only explanation he could think of was that greed changed him in more ways than one. It wasn’t a comfortable feeling.

Nothing I can do about it now, he decided.

When he was finished, he turned away from the mirror and returned to the bunk beds. He gave them a cursory examination. There was a single slim pillow and a thin blanket folded neatly on each mattress. They didn’t look like the most comfortable thing, but it was way better than having to sleep outside on the ground. His new stats probably helped with the comfort, but Hunter wasn’t a masochist. If he could sleep on a bed, any bed, that would be preferable to his lodging the previous night.

Since he wasn’t tired, he wanted to explore the rest of the Sanctuary. He left the berthing and reentered the central portion of the structure. Turning right, he entered the portal located on the same wall. The inside was packed with all kinds of crafting equipment. To be truthful, he didn’t recognize most of them. 

The only thing he had a passing knowledge of was the blacksmithing equipment. Not because he had any experience with blacksmithing, but he was addicted to a television show where contestants competed to see who could make the best weapons. He saw a forge made out of the same white stone as everything else. It was filled with coals, but they were cold. It looked like it hadn’t been used in some time. Next to it, there was a large bellow sitting on a wooden crate. Hunter knew it was used to increase the heat of the forge, but he had no earthly idea of how hot the fire was supposed to be. 

Next to the forge were quenching barrels, a bucket full of metal ingots, an anvil, a sharpening wheel, and a workstation full of assorted tools. Anything beyond that was far out of Hunter’s limited expertise.

Everything else in the room could only be vaguely identified. There was a series of glass tubes, flasks, and other things that looked like it might be used for potion-making. There was an entire section devoted to woodworking. He could see dozens of tools that looked like they were meant to carve and shape wood. He even found arrow shafted that had yet to be fletched.

Even though it was all fascinating, Hunter was going to count the room as a waste of time until he found a bookshelf that was packed with thick tomes. They were labeled things like “A Beginners Guide to Carving Wood,” and “An Idiot’s Guide to Forging.” A quick count showed Hunter that there were at least twenty such books dedicated to idiots. 

Okay, maybe that might be useful, he granted.

Hunter had refused to read any of the Idiot’s Guide to anything in the past because he didn’t like the implication that he was dumb, but when it came to medieval crafting, he didn’t have a single clue. He resolved to study some of the books in the future. Hopefully, the system would help him increase his skills until he could craft his own weapons and armor. It would be nice not to rely on the greed weapons as his sole source of protection.

He left the crafting room and went to explore the final portal. When he passed through the threshold, he realized he had struck gold. For the first time since being thrown into the Rift, he was excited. He had found the armory.