They left the Association and met Anders, bringing with him a lot of recently-cut planks. It seems the sawmill was working on overdrive. It hasn't even been a full day even though it was almost over.

"Priestess Cless," Trevor called her as they left the building. "I want to invite you to visit the Inquisition camp. The soldiers were... requesting to see the new Holy Maiden."

Weirdo creepy geezer. Cless' gut instinct was to refuse outright but something told her there was a unique opportunity where the rewards could balance the risks. They were business partners now, right? She only needed one condition.

"It is fine. But I want you to promise on your life that I will be safe until I return to the Beaten Hare inn before midnight. If I am harmed, I will have you give me what I desire most tenfold. Agreed?"

"Yes, of course. I won't harm the Holy Maiden. I just want to have a little talk."

> Contract established. You gained 2,000 Experience Points.

"Master Balthus, thanks for the company. I'll go with father Trevor visit his camp now. Tell Karen I'll be okay and that father Trevor is a man of his word," She winked out of Trevor's field of view. "I'll be back before midnight."

"Are you sure?" Cless nodded at Balthus' question. She even had a smile on, see? "Okay then. I'll go ahead. Take care."

Balthus glared at Trevor but the High Inquisitor just scoffed. Cless walked by his side but kept half a pace away between them. He looked as if something was wrong but decided to not talk. He just walked ahead.

"Say, sister Cless, what is your level?"

"I'm sorry, father Trevor. I am not comfortable discussing such things."

"It is okay. Just give me a rough estimate. Is it near seventy-five?"

"No." She replied curtly.

'Not yet', was more like the answer. She knew she was walking into a trap. What Trevor didn't know was that she double-trapped the trap already. So when it sprung on her face it would ricochet right up his. And she had a second reason to go. She wanted to see the nuns. Cless was worried sick. They were at the complete mercy of the Inquisition. She would rampage if they did anything bad to them. She also wanted to know if any of them was a spy.

They went out through the west gate after the sunset. There was a tent town raised on the grass. Several torches on torch stands and a few campfires provided warmth and lighting. They went and the soldiers stood at attention while they passed.

"What are we doing now, father Trevor?" Cless forced to keep a demure demeanor. She wanted to look as harmless and angelical as possible.

"We are visiting a friend of mine. He wants to give a good look at you."

Probably the appraiser they brought. This would be the moment of truth. Cless focused on the technique Balthus taught her. Create a layer of fake information to mix with her real information. She also tried to blend in a third layer, pieces of her old status on top of the other two. It could only help, right?

She felt the mental strain erode her willpower but her Wisdom had doubled from there. She could do it. Cless picked the Cleric information she remembered, the Priestess bits and mixed in, trying to cover up. She also erased her Skill on the third layer, leaving only the production ones. Crafter and Farmer. Cless should've thought of that before, but now it was all she could think of.

"Here we are. You first, sister."

She entered and an old man with a pince-nez was sitting by a desk. He raised his head and frowned.

"What is it, Trevor? I can't be bothered with every single priestess you bed."

A pervert's den. Cless felt disgusted and just a little excited.

"This is the new Holy Maiden, Frederik. The reason we came here all the way from the Holy City!"

Trevor added innuendo to his speech but Cless just felt his slimy tone. What did this guy do to the nuns? Worse yet, this Frederik guy could hurt Cless. Trevor would die from her contract but she was in real danger!

"Pleased to meet you, father Frederik." Cless curtsied.

"I am no priest, girl. Now sit down here, let me take a good look at you."

Cless decided that a little headache was a good thing. She was getting very scared by that man. She opened up her Status and focused on garbling her information. No, no, no she didn't have all these proficiencies or these spells. Only holy magic. She also worked on the third layer, lowering her Stats to agreeable levels. Also, remove this bonus from Skills. Her mind was straining and her heart pounding fast. She felt a shiver of fear as Frederik laid his gaze on her.

"Girl! Girl!" She came to herself when Frederik shook her shoulder.

"Yes?" She looked around. She didn't faint, did she? "Did I faint?" Oh, crap it was spoken out loud.

"No. You don't have to be afraid. In fact, I want you to relax. Look in my eyes and relax."

She knew he was using some spell. She could feel the magic wrapping around her and not entering. She relaxed anyway. No reason to make them even more suspicious than before.

"Good. Let me take a good look at you. Yes. This is good. Relax. Ugh." Frederik raised a hand to his eye, grimacing in pain.

"What happened? — Mending!" Cless shot a spell at him before even diagnosing anything.

"I'm fine. Say, girl, what is your level?" He asked.

Cless felt Trevor stir behind her. He was about one pace away to the left and back. She thought about lying but it wouldn't fly. So she went on the offensive.

"Are you an appraiser, sir Frederik?"

"Yes. Now answer me, what is your level?" Frederik was just a little annoyed. It seems the Mending couldn't fix mental strain.

"Can't you see it for yourself? I wouldn't lie but you can't be sure."

"Smart girl," He turned to Trevor. "Take care with this one, she'll eat you alive."

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She could tell by his tone of voice that Trevor hated the man. "Just do the job the Church pays you for, Frederik. Appraise the girl. I want a full status. Now."

Nice. Frederik was not part of the Church. He would be less inclined to help him. Frederik fiercely stared at her. If Cless was antsy before, she was now almost in full freak out mode. He kept staring for one, two minutes. He stopped and his eyes were unfocused. He pressed on his temples then reached for a potion. The same Balthus gave her.

"Really?" Trevor asked. "Do you really need a potion after two minutes reading a fifteen-year-old girl? You are trash, Frederik. The Inquisition won't pay for this potion."

"Suit yourself, High Inquisitor," He retorted with sarcasm. "Now, girl, relax. Don't resist or it will be worse for you."

Once again the stare. Once again he felt a headache and went for his second potion. Did Balthus mention there was a limit? She didn't remember. Or maybe he didn't and just said the potions were expensive. That they were.

"What are you doing, Frederik? Did you see any of her Status?"

Frederik looked at her. She could see the veins in his eyes were bulging, making him even more fearsome. "I am not sure. Her Magic is too high. I saw something but it must be fake. Do you have the Status Forgery in any capacity, girl?"

Cless tilted her head, honestly. Was there such a thing? "Not since last time I checked, sir. And I just left the Association with the High Inquisitor. I picked out a new Profession."

Trevor had little patience. He might be a man used to being obeyed to the letter and to killing people that didn't Cless thought. "What is her Status, Frederik?"

Cless felt her own headache fade. She pulled her status up, carefully moving the window up so she could stare at Frederik's bloodshot eyes as she worked on that Status Forgery thing. Must be what she was doing. Maybe even put another layer of rubbish in front of the fake status. She felt her own head about to burst and stopped.

She saw a curious Frederik after she dismissed her now four-layered status screen. "What is wrong?"

Frederik laughed. "Did those heroes teach you how to Appraise? Were you trying to appraise me, of all people?" He cackled.

Trevor moved forward a little. Cless could see the hem of his clothes on her periperal vision. "Stop scaring the girl, Frederik. Let's see what she has to say."

Cless felt her nervers calming down. Was the guy using some fear power on her all this time? She knew they wouldn't answer and she didn't want to give them much information, so she tried small chat.

"Does the Inquisition pay well, sir Frederik? I might be after your job."

He scoffed. "Bah! They pay me almost nothing. I'm a slave here! And I have to do two jobs here, I'm the appraiser and the executioner." He thought for a while and then leaned forward. "I dare you to try and appraise me."

"I'll try to if you give me two things. First, a hint on how basic appraisal works. Second, one of these fancy potions."

Without warning, he tossed a vial to her. Only her monstrous Agility allowed her to grab it. Cless pulled her status again and worked on the garbled fourth layer. It was harder than the second. When she felt like fainting, she quickly quaffed the potion.

"That is hard!" She whimpered and then whined like a child. "Give me a hint! How can I appraise people better?"

"Oh, that is easy. You need to feel like you want to steal the person's Status. Set that desire deep in yourself. You want that person's status. And then imagine yourself stealing that person's status. Go ahead and try. I'll give you another potion."

Cless stared at Frederik's eyes and pulled her own status again. The man was insane. The only kind of person that would feel a greater desire than her to steal other's Status was a Skill Hunter. Then again, this Frederik guy said he was both appraiser and executioner. Oh, boy. That was sweet. Was a Skill Hunter hiding inside the Inquisition?

She used her time to fiddle with her settings. She set separate messages for kill Experience and Proficiency Experience.

The strain was getting stronger as she worked on the second, false layer. Minutes passed and she felt her vision blur.

"Give me the second potion. I could see only a tiny bit."

Trevor snorted. Frederik raised a single skeptical eyebrow. He unwillingly gave her a second potion. Cless thought there wasn't going to be a third. Since none of the two men asked, she offered.

"Does any of you want to know what I saw?" Frederik smirked for a moment but quickly regained his stance. He knew she was bluffing.

"Amuse me, sister," Trevor bit the bait.

"I saw a class, but I am not sure. I think it is some specialized variant of Ranger," She bluffed. With automatic proficiency, it was a level seventy-five bluff. "I think its name is something Hunter."

"Eh?" Trevor groaned. "What was the first part, girl. Do you know?"

Cless couldn't see Trevor behind her but she could see Frederik. The man was getting very angry at her. She knew she was playing with fire as this man surely was high level. She had to work it out.

"Sir Frederik, I'm sorry if I offended you. Father Trevor, please ignore it. I am not sure and was about to faint when I finally could see something. Disregard what I say and forgive me."

She lowered her head, taking Frederik out of her line of sight. Now she had to wait. She was playing a dangerous game in a shark tank. If Trevor was level a hundred-ninety, this Frederik fellow should be at least a hundred-fifty. He could probably kill her with his pinky finger.

"No, I believe you, sister. This rascal here is famous in that nobody knows anything about him." She felt Trevor moving his arms by the air he was pushing around.

"She's lying, Trevor!" Frederik was disturbed. What kind of face or gesture was Trevor making?

"I might be, High Inquisitor. I'm sorry, sir Frederik. I thought I saw something."

Trevor went before Frederik could formulate a sentence. "A lucky hit, not a mistake. You are indeed a servant of the One God, sister Cless."

"Wipe that smug smile, Trevor. We've worked together for decades! She saw nothing!" Frederik went from angry to flustered.

A cornered man could do anything. And if Cless was to become a witness, it was one he could destroy at any moment. she had to make her move before a fight broke.

"Sir! Why don't we settle this with a game! A friendly game!" She tried to be jovial but she knew that she sounded like a scared little girl. Was something messing up with her mind?

Trevor chuckled. He must be enjoying the scene. "See? You are scaring the little girl, Frederik. What game is that, girl?"

"Simple. We three all agree to say our full names and classes either truthfully or lying. Just the classes, not the levels. If the person before you lies, then you can lie too. If the person before you told the truth, then you must stutter if you try to lie. Whoever agrees to go first and speaks truthfully gains amnesty from the other two for a year. No harm or plot to harm the one with amnesty. May the One God smite whoever breaks the amnesty down with his Holy Might.

"If the perpetrator suffers divine punishment, no ill will shall befall the other two players and the one that had amnesty wins what the perpetrator desires the most. To represent the divine smite, I'll place a Judgement spell here on a Warding spell, set to trigger upon the first one that breaks the amnesty. The second one will be blocked from using any spell, Skill, Technique against the one protected. Furthermore, we all agree to lower all and any resistances we have for this spell."

She chanted a Light spell on the top of the tent and then clearly chanted and stated the purpose of the Warding with the Judgement. When she was done casting the spell with elaborate gestures and a perfect chant, she asked.

"High Inquisitor, is there any trickery on my spell?"

"Absolutely not. It is a perfectly useless Warding that will never trigger." He quipped. Even without seeing him, she knew he was smiling.

"I'd request that the gentlemen let the lady go first then," Cless pleaded and then offered. "Shall we play?"

"What a wonderful game!" Trevor clapped, obviously to spite Frederik. "I agree to play with these rules! What about you, Frederik. Come on, don't be a spoilsport. Or are you afraid of something?"

Now that was a rigged game if Cless ever saw one. She felt like stealing candy from goblins. Not babies. Babies were cute. These two? As disgusting as goblins.

"I'll indulge you. You can go first, girl. Say your true classes." Frederik grumbled.

Cless held her Skill. She didn't want any chance at a prompt or notification and for that, she would have to make the agreement crystal clear. "Did both of you agree to the terms of our game and declare that you have a full understanding of the conditions of our game to the letter, including the consequences? An oath under the One God is a serious one."

Trevor clapped his hands. "Well spoken, Holy Maiden. It is touching to see a person with such faith at a young age!" For some reason, she felt the hunger in his voice. It felt like someone that worked all day without eating visiting the food stalls at a festival. She was glad her arms were covered by the robe's sleeves or they would see her goosebumps. "Of course I agree wholehearted to our game. Don't you, Frederik? You aren't afraid of some divine punishment, are you? Or do you have something to fear?"

That was creepy. Cless felt like someone was about to tear her fingernails out.

"I also declare under the One God, may his holy asshole shit in heaven, that I fully understand the terms and consequences of the game. You go first, girl."

Now it is time to let her Skill run wild.

> Wager created. You earned 4,000 Experience Points.

Did that mean Frederik had the same level as Trevor? Cless really needed to know how her Skill worked. But for now, the game was on. Time to make some grown men cry.