"Wish for anything he desired." Shin mumbled softly. "Is there really such a power?"

"Who knows?" Gin replied, his gray pupil-less eyes seemed to recall a long-forgotten memory. "It's just a story I heard a very long time ago."

"As the story goes, the young urchin awoke the slumbering spirit inside the golden lamp. But the spirit was completely trapped inside, with only its voice making it out through the small spout."

"The spirit then tried to bargain with the boy. 'Free me, and I'll give you whatever you desire.' Although the boy did not have a formal education, he was still smart enough not to be mindlessly swindled."

"Thinking for a bit, the urchin then wanted to test this spirit: 'If you really can give me what I desire, then giving me a plate of food would be as easy as snapping your fingers.' For a moment the spirit turned silent."

Snap! Gin clicked his fingers.

"Just like that, the spirit produced a plate of steaming food. The street urchin was completely shocked, seeing it appear out of nowhere. However his stomach had taken hold of him, he greedily began to wolf down the plate of food. To him, it was the most delicious meal he had ever eaten in his entire life."

"Seeing the simple greediness of the young street urchin, the spirit then proposed a new deal. 'Make any three wishes and I'll grant them, but you must vow to free me once I've granted them.'"

Hearing this, Shin immediately pointed out the abnormality in the new deal, "But Captain, why would the spirit suddenly give him more?"

The corner of Gin's mouth curled slightly. "Indeed. Why would the spirit do something like that?"

"The urchin thought the same thing, but he also saw how the spirit had given him something he wanted. Thinking for a while, the boy paced back and forth. Finally stopping and reaching a conclusion."

"I promise to free you," the boy said.

"Hearing the boy make the vow, the spirit then happily asked what the first wish should be."

"Holding the lamp tightly," the boy then said. 'Make me the most important person in this land, so that everyone will respect me.'"

"Snap! "Wish granted, the spirit said. You are the king of these lands. Hearing this, the urchin's eyes widened. He didn't believe it at first, but when he ran towards the main street, everyone suddenly bowed to him. They chanted his name in grand reverence. Even the street vendor that cursed him whenever he stood too close to his stall bowed with tears in his eyes."

"Then the spirit's voice spoke again, 'What is your second wish?'. The boy thought for a moment and looked down at his ragged clothes; he lifted the lamp and then said, 'I wish to be incredibly rich.'"

"Snap! Another wish was granted. This time the spirit gave the boy a leather pouch and said, 'Whenever you reach into this pouch, you will pull out a gold coin. No matter how much you pull out, it will never stop. Again the boy was amazed; he quickly stuffed his hand inside the pouch, and indeed there appeared a gold coin."

"Feeling extremely pleased with himself, the boy wasted no time making his third wish. As a street urchin who had to scrounge for food, he knew the struggles of not having enough to fill your belly. And in the barren region that he lived in, crops outside of towns were impossible to maintain."

"I wish to turn this desert into a forest with plenty of crop fields and animals. Just like before, the lamp spirit granted his wish."

"Immediately the entire desert region turned into a luscious forest, with winding rivers and grain fields, with plenty of fish and birds flying overhead."

"Having granted the boy all three wishes," the spirit then said. 'I have fulfilled my end of the deal. Now you must set me free, boy."

"Holding the golden lamp in hand, the boy thought on everything he had gained. He became king, he has unlimited money, and now the land is beautiful. Seeing all this, the boy now replied."

"No, I will not free you. Only once I've gotten everything I want, will I do so."

Sitting at the edge of the sparring mat cross-legged with his wooden sword in his lap, Shin felt that he vaguely understood the lesson of the story. But not willing to interrupt his Captain just yet, he continued listening quietly.

"Years had passed, and the boy became a man, a great king, and a bountiful provider to his citizens. And still, he wielded the golden lamp. His greed had grown much more immense, conquering an entire nation with a simple command, and harems of beautiful women fell at his feet. But still he was unsatisfied."

"Then one day, when he gazed at the night sky admiring the jewels that shone, he contemplated the magnificence of grasping them in his hands. Wistfully he sighed as the thought bubbled away, "I wish to conquer the stars."

"This momentary thought was what destroyed everything. The spirit had heard the wish of the king and suddenly spoke, 'If you want to conquer the stars, I can make it so.'"

"Hearing the spirit say this, the king became extremely elated and asked the spirit how he could do this. The spirit then told him some of the secrets of the world, secrets that had been hidden from humanity."

"The king hung on every word the spirit said; each day he would ask for more and more knowledge, and every day he would learn new mystical things. To the point that he even became Awakened, granting him even more power."

"This only further fueled the greed in the king's heart, until one day the spirit finally said to the king, 'If you peer into the spout, you will see a world beyond your own.'"

"The king had some apprehension about this proposal; however, he knew that the curiosity within would slowly burden him. But still he was not afraid, because he was the most powerful. He possessed all this knowledge, all these abilities, and all this wealth. What could happen to him?"

"And then he held the golden lamp up to his face and peered inside. He saw the true face of the lamp's spirit. And the moment he did, he felt fear. True fear that overshadowed all."

"The king's mind began to overflow with knowledge of all truths in the world, truths of the supernatural and the truths of what lies beyond. All this broke his mind, allowing a single crack to form a connection to the lamp spirit."

"When he wailed in pain, the spirit began to take over his entire being, making the man its new vessel. And it succeeded. The spirit had successfully taken over the man's body and trapped him inside the golden lamp as its new prisoner."

"Then, speaking in the king's voice, he said, 'I was once like you, a man, burdened by avarice. I also wanted all the power and knowledge, and just like you, I became a fool of the lamp's ploy.'"

"And as the king hurled the golden lamp into the distance, his final words to the new spirit were this: 'Let the next fool be as greedy as we were.'"

Concluding the story, Gin sat down opposite Shin and asked, "Do you know what this story represents?"

Having already deduced some clues from what was said, Shin replied. "The boy's greed became too much, and he got exploited by the lamp spirit."

Nodding his head slowly, Gin continued. "You are on the right track, but not exactly there."

"Indeed, the lesson here is greed. But do not forget the good he had done and the prosperity he brought to people. This should have been sufficient; however, he knew he could get more and thus wanted more."

"The spirit lured him with the gift of knowledge and showed him truths that no human should know. And when the king finally became corrupted, he took everything he had."

Still listening attentively, Shin nodded along as his Captain spoke. And when Gin finally paused, he asked the question in his head. "So what exactly does this have to do with the Path knowledge, Captain?"

Finding amusement in the question, he then responded. "We have a golden rule in the world of the supernatural."

"Knowledge is power, but also a poison."

"Notice how in the story nothing bad happened to the king, but the moment he became enthralled with the supernatural, he began to lose himself."

"Thus I want you to remember this, Shin, from now and until eternity. The deeper you walk down a path, the more poisonous that knowledge becomes in exchange for power."

"Yeah, you could technically walk all the Paths. But limit yourself, lest you form a tether with an abominable entity that can corrupt you just by seeing its face."

Standing up with a heavy sigh, Gin then concluded the lesson. "Once you complete this new assignment, I'll take you to select a Path."

Standing up as well, Shin dusted himself off and inquired of the Captain, "What is the new assignment about?"

"It's a bit high profile in some way. This will be a joint assignment, where the daughter of a top-ranking MagTec employee needs to be observed. From what we know, she may have used the ritual game, and this could have cursed her."

"So what you'll do is observe any anomalies, and if something happens. Make sure to handle it discreetly."

"Who will be joining me on this joint assignment, Captain?" Shin asked.

"It's you and Ren." The smug look returned to Gin's face.

Seriously! It really had to be that guy… Ugh, this is going to be a pain.