It took most of the day for them to hammer out the details of the contract. When they had most of the details worked out, Ember sent for her mother who looked over the contract and pointed out some items to rework. Ember had been a little surprised by this. She knew her mother had some education but it seemed she was good at handling contracts. It gave her some ideas.

Once they were finished, her mother looked at the contract thoughtfully. She nodded her head in approval before turning to Ember. Ember took a deep breath and focused back on Knight Van.

"There is one more thing I would like to talk with you about."

Knight Van nodded his head for her to proceed.

Ember paused. She needed to make sure not to lie while also not giving too much away. Though she was starting to trust Knight Van it was better to keep her ability as much a secret as possible. Still, there were certain things she wouldn't be able to hide.

"I have more abilities than I have let on," Ember said.

Knight Van raised his eyebrow but didn't look too surprised. "What are they?"

"You already know some of them. My mapping skill." She called up the skill and a glowing golden map appeared. "It has some restrictions but it allows me to find things." She dismissed Finder. "You are already aware of my illusion ability."

She hesitated on mentioning her sleep ability but the knight already suspected it so there was no point in hiding it. "I also have a sleep ability but it is very weak. The abilities you aren't aware of are my elemental abilities."

Like Ember had done many times before, she called up a ball of each element. As soon as she did, Knight Van's eyes widened.

She didn't stop there. "I also have a barrier ability but it's weak." Though the barrier skill wasn't unlocked yet, she planned to develop it as much as possible and if Knight Van was going to train her, she wanted to do it with that skill in mind.

Knight Van's usually stoic face was filled with shock that even he couldn't hide. He shook his head. "That's eight abilities and you haven't touched a sapling. No, even touching a sapling has a limit. You need to have touched the Akashic Tree to have so many."

Ember didn't say anything as she let the knight form his own conclusions. Finally, Knight Van gathered himself and his usual stony expression returned. "You're going to draw a lot of attention."

"I don't plan on revealing all of my abilities."

Knight Van sighed. "That's not how registration works. You can't hide your abilities."

"We'll see."

Knight Van frowned. "Are you saying you have a way to hide your abilities?"

"It's not something I purposely do," Ember said and winced. It wasn't a lie but it also wasn't completely the truth.

Knight Van's eyes glowed.

Ember sighed. "It's not something I have control over but I find it useful."

"True," Knight Van said and the glow faded from his eyes. He looked thoughtful and then nodded. "If you do manage to hide it, that's fine, but I'll have to at least report your abilities to Prince Liam."

"I understand."

Ember expected that so she only nodded her head. Prince Liam was the prince that Knight Vantosia worked for. He was the third prince of the six children of King Galari and was not in the running for the crown. Usually, the eldest child was automatically given the right of crown prince. The problem was the firstborn of the king was one of a set of twins. Technically, Prince Corrin was the eldest of the twins but Prince Abel had a strong following and so there had been unrest about who should hold the title of crown prince, dividing the court into factions. Ember didn't know which faction Prince Liam belonged to. He had been long dead before she got involved with the royal family in her previous life.

After Prince Liam's death, Knight Vantosia had worked directly with King Galari and it was common knowledge that he would be assigned to whoever became the next king. Unfortunately, Knight Vantosia died before that happened.

"Good," Knight Van said. "Then tomorrow we will complete your registration."

Ember nodded and they finished up. Once they returned to their room, her mother turned to Ember.

"Are you sure you shouldn't have told him everything about your ability?"

Ember nodded. "Yes. If I had told him everything, he would have to report it to Prince Liam and then I would find myself a puppet."

Her mother let out a sigh and nodded. "You'll have to be careful."

Ember hugged her mother. "I will."

After that, they spent the rest of the day together with Rowan joining them. Rowan was ecstatic when he heard the news about her accepting Knight Vantosia as her sponsor.

The next morning, Ember was woken by a persistent knock on the door. When she answered the door, she was surprised to see Knight Vantosia, Knight Garrick, and Priest Beslen outside. She looked at the group in confusion.

"Registration," Knight Van said simply.

"Right now?" Ember asked.

Knight Van just looked at her. Ember sighed and nodded. She started to turn away to get ready when Knight Garrick cleared his throat. She turned to him and he flashed her a smile.

"I'm here for Rowan."

Ember blinked and then nodded. "It'll just be a moment."

She closed the door behind her and then woke up her mother and Rowan. Her mother looked surprised but hurried to get ready. Rowan resisted getting up until Ember mentioned Knight Garrick was waiting in the hall for him. Rowan immediately shot up and started scrambling to get himself together.

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The three of them made quick work of getting dressed and were soon out in the hall. Knight Garrick waved at Rowan.

"Ready to start training?"

"Yes, sir!" Rowan shouted, his entire body vibrating with excitement.

Knight Garrick chuckled and gestured for Rowan to follow him. Rowan shouted good luck before darting down the hall.

"Shall we?" Priest Beslen said, with an amused expression on his face.

Knight Van nodded and led the way.

Ember watched Knight Van curiously. She was surprised he had personally come to get her instead of sending someone but perhaps this was him showing how much he valued her as his candidate.

"Why didn't you tell me you decided to take Knight Vantosia as your sponsor?" Priest Beslen asked.

Ember blinked and then flushed. "Sorry. I forgot."

Priest Beslen laughed. "Well, that's fine though the nobles will be disappointed."

Knight Vantosia glanced at Priest Beslen before looking away in annoyance. This made the priest laugh even harder. It was clear Priest Beslen was trying to rub it in Knight Van's face that she confided in him first. Ember had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at his antics.

The group of them stopped in front of a door guarded by two warrior-priests. There they each stated their names and then were allowed inside. Inside was an empty room where two priests stood. Priest Beslen joined them.

"The three of us will do the confirmation and registration. First, we'll start with the confirmation. Knight Vantosia, please step forward."

The knight stepped forward and then he went through a process where the knight handed over a silver emblem. The priest took it and then went through a door. Once he returned, he nodded and handed the silver emblem back to Knight Vantosia.

"Now we will move on to registration. Maiden Ember, please follow. Everyone else, wait here."

Priest Beslen and the other two priests led the way through a door that opened to a stairway leading down. The three of them silently climbed down the stairs until they reached another door that was guarded by more warrior-priests. One of the warrior-priests opened the door and the group walked into a plain circular room where a glowing orb sat on a pedestal.

"This is the knowledge orb," Priest Beslen said. "It will notify us of your gifts. You simply have to touch it."

Ember felt a wave of nervousness. It was her first time interacting with a knowledge orb. They were special artifacts that could read the abilities of a person and store the information. The orbs were connected to a larger orb held within the royal palace which contained all knowledge of every person who obtained a Blessing and their abilities.

That was when things got tricky. She wasn't sure if the orb would reveal her levels or would only contain her general information. She wanted to avoid revealing her level system because then her ability to collect other abilities would be discovered, but she was almost sure that she was safe in that regard. In her past life, there had been many people who knew the general information about a person's abilities but didn't know the details, which hinted that only general knowledge was obtainable.

Ember frowned. But if that was the case, that meant Lord Felis's Inspect ability was a lot stronger than she had realized. Maybe that was why he had someone powerful willing to work with him. Ember really wished she had some way to permanently take the ability away. It was too good to leave it with that creep.

"Maiden Ember, you may proceed to the orb. Do not remove your hand until we tell you to do so."

Ember's head jerked up and she nodded, swallowing down her nervousness. She walked towards the pedestal while the priest watched her. Once she stood before it, she took a deep breath. It was time. She pressed her hand against the orb.

The orb began to crackle as it glowed brightly then several thin branches sprouted up from the orb and began twisting together until they were shaped into a square. Smaller branches spread throughout the square forming words.

The words read, "Ember of Goros, Finder's Keeper, Level 5."

The room was quiet and then behind her the three priests each spoke.

"Confirm."

"Confirm."

"Confirm."

"Maiden Ember, you may remove your hand."

Ember dropped her hand, relieved. It looked like despite her worries, the orb only told general information, though she had rather hidden the fact that her ability was already at level 5.

"You have an interesting ability, Maiden Ember. I have never heard of Finder's Keeper and it's a growth ability as well," one of the priests said.

There was a murmur behind her as the priest spoke among themselves. Ember took a deep breath and then turned to the priest. Here came the next part of her plan.

"It's a mapping ability," Ember said. "But it isn't the only ability I have."

Silence spread through the group. The priests looked skeptical while Priest Beslen looked amused.

"Another one," one of the priests muttered.

"I can demonstrate." And without waiting for them to accept, she held out her hand and a ball of flame appeared.

Instead of the surprise she expected, she received a scowl from one priest and a look of exasperation from the other.

"Do we really have to play along with these games?" one of the priests said.

"Maiden Ember, it is best that you don't lie. You'll be punished if we start the identification process."

Ember was truly confused. This wasn't the reaction she expected after demonstrating her ability. "I'm not lying."

"Then are you saying the orb is broken?"

"No," Ember said, and she couldn't help the irritation in her voice. She pointed at her eye. "I have a curse. I think it is preventing my other abilities from being shown."

"But it allows one of your abilities to be shown?"

"Yes," Ember said. "I don't know why it is that way but I came to the temple to get it looked at."

"Are you sure?" the priest said. "Once we start the investigation, if you are found to be playing some sort of trick you will be punished."

Ember didn't know why they were so sure she was lying but she nodded her head anyway. "I'm sure."

One of the priests huffed while the other gave Priest Beslen an irritated look. Priest Beslen had put his hand to his mouth and it was clear he was trying to suppress his laughter. Finally, he managed to contain himself and straightened up.

"Let's begin. Shall we?"

Ember wasn't sure what was happening but after that one of the priests stepped out of the room and they stood there awkwardly waiting. Ember caught Priest Beslen's gaze but the priest just shrugged. Ember still wasn't sure what was going on but the longer she waited the more dread built up inside her.

Twenty minutes later, two female priests arrived and guided Ember to an empty room. There they proceeded to strip her and search her body. Ember was mortified. It was like what happened at the research facility all over again. Once they had taken everything she was wearing, they had her dress in the white robes given to acolytes and guided her back to the room where the orb was held.

"Now, show us again."

By this point, Ember figured out what was happening. They thought she had used a magic item to pretend she had more abilities than she did. She straightened up and held out her hand and again a flame appeared.

The priests went quiet. One looked surprised while the other looked doubtful. "Did they really check her thoroughly?"

Ember frowned. She also intended to register her illusion ability but since it was clear it would only cause more doubt, she instead decided to focus on the elements. It would also make it easier for her to try to learn lightning from Garrick. Still, having more than three abilities would draw too much attention to her and since she already revealed fire and her mapping ability, she needed to decide what the last one would be.

Ember held out her hand, revealing a water orb. "I have both fire and water elements as well as my mapping ability." She called up Finder, displaying it before making the map and the elements disappear.

Stunned silence filled the room.

"Impossible," one of the priests said.

"We should check the orb."

"She needs to be checked again."

Priest Beslen started laughing.

Ember sighed. It was going to be a long day.